Choosing Destiny
by Sewer Slider
Summary: Complete! AU. First in the Destiny Trilogy. What if Splinter hadn't brought up the Turtles? Joint second for Best Villain and third for Best Drama in the 2005 Fanfic awards!
1. Prologue

Choosing Destiny

Disclaimer: I own no mutant turtles and every devious kidnap plot I get involved in is thwarted. Life sucks.

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**Prologue.**

Splinter was worried. But then, he had spent rather a long time being worried, ever since he had been exposed to a glowing ooze down in the sewers, the same day he became a father of four. His intelligence had rapidly increased along with his size and he was now smart enough to realise that he could no longer forage in the same way that he had after his Master Yoshi had been killed. Anyone who saw the oversized rat would probably scream, attempt to hurt him, and then who would look after his sons? So he had been forced to go dumpster diving in the early hours of the morning, trying to find something that wouldn't poison them in the remnants of human garbage, each time afraid that this would be the time when he would be discovered and killed, leaving his sons to die a slow and painful death through starvation. But he couldn't take them with him – they were still unsteady on their feet, noisy, little more than toddlers.

Splinter allowed himself a small smile as he hurried back to the lair. His sons were the thing that made his life worth living. Before he found them, he had been bereft, his Sensei dead, his home gone, scavenging on the street for whatever he could find. Now his life had some kind of purpose; the protection of his new family. With his increased wisdom came the knowledge that his sons, and himself, were very different to most of the surface dwellers and his experience taught him that the humans were often cruel to those who were different.

Although it was a difficult life they led, he wouldn't have changed it. Getting used to his changed body had been a difficult task but he was getting more used to it now, finding it was actually more flexible and adaptable than his rodent form. There were things he could do now that he had been unable to before his transformation, like decipher the marks on a piece of paper and derive meanings from them. He knew he had seen Master Yoshi do just that, sometimes pointing to the marks and explaining to his pet exactly what it said, but as a rat he simply hadn't been able to read. Now he could, and had used the knowledge to choose names for the children from a book on art he had found in a storm drain, the very book that had alerted him to the new skill he had acquired. He had once again begun tentatively practising ninjitsu again and hoped that he would soon be able to mimic the movements of his Master Yoshi that had been impossible as a true rat…

His smile faded. A mere rat he might have been only eighteen months previously but he had imitated Yoshi as well as his body would allow him and paid heed to his activities, such as meditation. He could sense that something was amiss, but couldn't decipher what that something was. Raising his nose into the air, he scented the tunnel cautiously. He could detect no one there and yet he couldn't rid himself of the feeling of _wrongness_. He had to get home to the children. Maybe then he would be rid of this concern.

Clutching the sack he had brought back with him, he hurried back through the sewers, hoping the turtles hadn't awoken. The alley where he had been foraging had given various treasures, making it a favourite spot of Splinter's to search for food. There was a general store there, and the expired food wound up in the dumpster. Sometimes there was milk or bread, sometimes sandwich meat or slowly defrosting desserts. On occasion, there had been cans of food which Splinter had struggled to open with rocks. That night there had been a veritable feast; two loaves gone slightly hard, a tin of meatballs and a packet of egg flavoured sandwich filler. A largish carton of chocolate milkshake. Tomorrow the turtles would eat well. Splinter longed for the day when he could work out a better way of finding food, or maybe risk going further afield for their supplies, but with the children so young and his mutation so recent, he didn't dare risk it. As long as there were several places nearby where he could find food for them all, he didn't see the need to be gone longer than he had to be, in spite of the niggling worry that one day he would be seen and the next time he went to the dumpster, some one would be waiting for him.

The entrance to the lair loomed ahead and Splinter scurried through, going to check on the turtles before he did anything else. They were exactly where he had left them. Leonardo and Raphael lay on the outside of the pile of tattered blankets, Michelangelo and Donatello curled in the middle. Splinter was once again struck with the reality of the situation; the turtles were only slightly smaller than the average human three year old. No one would believe that they were ordinary pets. Nor would anyone think they were ordinary humans, not with their green skin and tri-fingered hands. He couldn't let anyone discover their existence, not the way that humans treated those who weren't like others.

Stowing the food in the coldest part of the lair, Splinter snuggled down on the pile of blankets beside his sons, ensuring that they were all covered and warm. Much as he knew he couldn't let anyone find his sons, he also knew that the sewers were not the best place for growing children, no matter what their species. But for the time being, it was the best that he could do.

Dozing off, Splinter managed almost ninety minutes sleep before he awoke with a start. He sat up hurriedly, scenting the air. Some one was close. A lot of some ones. Young, male, right outside the lair – and another scent that he recognised. The last time he had been near that person, he had been scratching the skin off his face.

Flexing himself, Splinter prepared himself for attack.

The entrance of the lair was empty one moment, the next a flood of people darted through the door. Clad in black, there were too many of them for Splinter to fight off. Not that the numbers were going to stop him. He recognised the insignia on their clothes; the mark of the Foot clan. The same clan responsible for the death of his Master Yoshi. And behind all of them, the tall, imposing figure of the Hun, still bearing the scars of the last time the two had met.

"A rat," said Hun in a menacing tone. "I hate rats."

"The marks I left on your face are but a small retribution for your dishonourable actions when you faced my Master Yoshi!" Splinter had previously spoken the human language only to the turtles and his voice was harsh but perfectly understandable. He could sense the shock of the Foot soldiers, evident in their rigid stances. But Hun showed no shock at the talking rat, merely narrowed his eyes as it sank in just who was stood before him.

"You…"

Splinter stood his ground, waiting for the order to attack, hearing a stirring behind him. He didn't dare turn around to check on the turtles, but he silently willed them to go on sleeping, not to wake up and draw attention to themselves. A talking rat was a novelty, something for the Foot clan and their dishonourable master to marvel over for a time, but four mutant turtles too young to fight back – that would be disastrous.

"Foot ninja! Take it down!"

Immediately the Foot leapt into action, attacking Splinter in number. The rat had long studied the moves of his Master Yoshi and was able to fight back, felling the first wave of ninjas with kicks and punches. But he knew it was only a matter of time. They were too numerous and he was not yet used to the changes his body had made, still wanting to give in to his rodent instincts and revert to biting and scratching. He struggled against the urge, knowing that to do so would end the fight sooner. He was determined to give these misguided fools a taste of what it meant to serve the Foot; pain and humiliation.

No sooner had he disabled the first attack then he was set upon again, three Foot soldiers running straight at him while a further two struck behind him. He managed to fell two of those attacking in front before one of the ninja to his rear managed to kick his legs from under him. Before he could recover himself, Hun advanced and picked Splinter up by his neck, making it almost impossible for the rat to catch a breath, let alone fight back.

"The Master will be most interested in this find," he said maliciously. "Stupid rat, too primitive to realise the food it found was bugged…"

"_Sp'inta_!"

A tiny green figure bolted from the pile of blankets in the corner and ran over to Hun. Before any of the Foot ninja could wrap their brains around what they were seeing, the turtle had sank its teeth into Hun's ankle.

Grimacing, Hun reached down and grabbed the turtle by the shell, lifting and examining him by turning him around, while all the time the mutant struggled to lay a punch on the man.

"It's a freak haven down here!" Hun gazed in frank wonder at the turtle. "The rat we were expecting, but this!"

"Waff! Man got Waff!"

Hun glanced over to the pile of blankets, astonishment growing as three more turtles bounced out of the corner and attempted to attack him. Tiny fists beat at his legs and one of them jumped up, trying to get hold of the first turtle and the rat, an ineffectual attempt at a rescue.

"Get them all," ordered Hun. "We must show these _freaks_ to the Master."

Splinter's eyes widened. The thing he had always been most afraid of had come to pass. "My sons – _run_! Get away!"

"Not so fast!" One of the Foot ninja grabbed an escaping turtle as it ran past him, gaining a glancing kick to the abdomen as he picked it up.

"Help me with these two," said another, pinning the remaining turtles to the floor, unable to pick one up without releasing his grip on the other.

"Let's get them back to headquarters," said Hun, before returning his attention to Splinter. "Your 'sons'? Sorry to break up the happy freak family."

At the mercy of the Hun, Splinter didn't respond. He could think of no way out of their current predicament. And he knew that with the turtles in his control, there was no reason for the Shredder to keep him alive.

&&&&&&&&&

Oruku Saki observed the room on one of the security cameras, curious but not shocked. He had seen too much in his many years to be startled by any life form he came across. But this was a first on this planet; mutant creatures living in the sewers, four of them too young to fend for themselves. It was these four he was keeping an eye on.

In their windowless room, the four turtles were reacting in different ways to their sudden change in circumstances. Raphael was beating his fists against the door, demanding to be let out. Leonardo was sitting in a corner, a thoughtful frown on his face. Michelangelo was fighting back tears, occasionally asking plaintively for Splinter. And Donatello seemed to be in mild shock, wandering the room and examining the walls, almost like he was searching for a hidden exit. Of course, Saki had no idea of their names or their origins. But he was going to find out.

Tapping his fingers against the monitor, Saki considered his options. He could terrorise the answers out of them, but that didn't seem like the best course of action. Creatures such as these could be useful to him in the future and to make them fear him now would only hamper any future attempts to garner their loyalty. He could manipulate anyone given enough time and leverage but right now it wasn't a strange man that they needed to see. They needed some one else to open up to, some one they would be more likely to trust than the leader of the clan that had torn them away from their Sensei.

The answer came to him and he allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk, telling one of the Foot soldiers to summon his adopted daughter.

Karai entered the monitor room five minutes later, her often sullen face brightening slightly as she saw Saki. He had saved her from a life on the streets of Japan as a much smaller child and now she was nine years old she looked upon the head of the Foot clan as a father figure. He had begun teaching her ninjitsu and was gratified to discover she had a natural aptitude for it. In years to come she would be trusted to lead one of the branches of the Foot, the organisation spreading all over the world, New York being only the latest in a long line of places to host the shadowy group.

"Master Saki." Karai bowed her head to show her respect and Saki returned the gesture.

"Karai. I have need of your services." He indicated to the screen where the turtles were displayed. He noticed how Karai looked startled as she saw what he was looking at. "These – turtles – have come to our attention of late. They were in the care of an enemy and we have rescued them. However, they are very upset. Our enemy is the only parent they have ever known and although what we have done is for the best, I do not know how to explain that to them. I believe they would be more willing to speak to some one closer to their own age than they would to me right now."

Watching the screen, Karai nodded. She wasn't blind to the ways of the Foot clan, but she knew that their enemies were powerful, ruthless, willing to bring them down no matter what. Her heart went out to the tiny green creatures who looked so lost. She could remember all too well what it was like to be left without ones parents', not knowing what was going to happen next. So she listened to Saki and took in his instructions, planning what she was going to say to the creatures and how she would talk them around to their side.

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Raphael finally wore himself out, letting his arms drop to his sides and throwing himself onto the ground beside his brothers. He didn't like this place, the room was too bright, the walls were too close, he wanted to go _home_, a sentiment being echoed by his brothers.

"Where Sp'inta?" asked Michelangelo for the fourth time in five minutes.

"Him gone," replied Donatello, prodding the wall carefully. The construction of the room they were currently in was very different to that of the sewers and he found it quite interesting, although he didn't have the words to articulate that.

"Bad man took Sp'inta," added Leonardo sadly.

"Want _out_," muttered Raphael.

The door opened, causing all four turtles to scoot to the furthest corner and stare at the person who had entered. They had known that the people who took Splinter were 'men' because of the pictures their Sensei had shown them in discarded magazines that he had brought back to the lair with him, often making up stories based upon the pictures. But that night was the first time they had ever _seen_ one, let alone several dozen. The figure at the door wasn't a man, but another type of human, one that Splinter had called a 'girl'. A pouting, nervous girl, not very much older than they were.

"Um…hello." The girl closed the door behind her and regarded them curiously. They stared back, not sure whether or not to be afraid of her.

The girl cleared her throat, obviously unnerved by their lack of response. "My name's Karai. What are your names?"

"Go 'way!" shouted Raphael.

"Uh…" Karai hesitated. "You're all safe here now. My Sensei rescued you from the nasty rat man."

"Want Sp'inta," said Michelangelo, his eyes filling with tears.

"Splinter was a bad person," said Karai seriously. "He was keeping you prisoner in the nasty dark sewer! That wasn't nice, was it?"

"Want Sp'inta," repeated Mikey, the tears trickling slowly down his cheeks. Leo patted his brother on the shell, like he had seen Splinter do when one of them cried.

"You can stay here with us instead," continued Karai, pretending not to notice the crying turtle. "It's nice and there's always food. And Master Saki is a good man. He takes real good care of me, he'll take good care of you too."

"Don't wanna stay!" Raph glared at Karai angrily. "We want Sp'inta!"

Karai shook her head and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, but…Splinter's dead. You'll have to stay with us. There's no one else left to look after you."

The turtles looked blank at this news and Karai sighed. "That means he's gone away and he won't ever come back."

"Him not come back?" Donatello looked agitated. "But him has to!"

"It's alright," said Karai. "You can stay here with us. We'll be friends."

The four turtles gave her mutinous glares, eyes narrowed, making Karai sigh again. "You don't have a lot of choice in this. You're going to live here with Master Saki. It's much better than living in a cold dark sewer with the rat man."

"Stay here 'til Sp'inta come back?" asked Leo.

"Yes," replied Karai, giving up on the idea of explaining the concept of death to a toddler. She sat down opposite the turtles, giving them her best smile. "What are your names? We have to know your names if you're going to live here."

The four exchanged glances and eventually Leo answered. "Me Leonardo," he enunciated carefully. "This Don'tello. This Waphael. This Mike'angelo."

In the monitor room, Saki watched Karai elicit the information out of them and laughed softly. The rat had named them after artists? That was surprisingly intelligent for vermin. But let them keep the names. He had to call them something after all. And he guessed that in a month or so they would stop asking for their father. In a year they would have forgotten all about him. By the time they were old enough to require any information about their origins, they should have forgotten that they had ever been anywhere except Foot headquarters and that would make his life a lot easier. He had been right. Following the mutant rat that one of the Foot soldiers had seen several weeks previously had been a smart move on his part.

All he had to do was gain their trust and loyalty and they would be his for life.


	2. Saviour?

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters contained herein.

Author Note: I have in various places in this fic used my extremely limited knowledge of weaponry. Feel free to let me know should I make any mistakes regarding them.

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_12 Years Later…_

Leonardo entered his room, closing the door quietly behind him and deciding to meditate for a while. His training session with Master Saki had been a gruelling one, but he was grateful to his Sensei for allowing him the one-on-one time to improve his ninjitsu skills. It had been his third training session of the day; the first with his three brothers and the second with the Foot soldiers. He hadn't always felt the need to train so hard, but since Karai had been sent to Japan to oversee the Foot operations there, Leo had been at something of a loose end. He didn't feel slighted exactly, he was still young and Karai, several years older, had not only earned the opportunity given to her but she had the added advantage of being human rather than humanoid. It was difficult enough gaining the respect of the new recruits to the Foot clan when they realised their initial training would come from a five foot talking turtle, taking over an already established branch of the Foot, particularly one as historical as the Japanese branch, would be too difficult.

Still, he couldn't help feeling a little jealous. He trained hard and was at least the equal of Karai. They had sparred together enough for him to know that. And she was going to live in Japan, a place he had always wanted to go.

And he was going to miss her.

Karai had been a constant in his life since he and his brothers had been rescued by the Foot clan. Master Saki had discovered the heinous experiments his ancient enemies had been performing on innocent creatures and although his discovery had come too late for most of the lab animals, he had managed to save the baby turtles that had been exposed to some form of mutagen. He had taught them all about ninjitsu and kept them safe in the Foot headquarters. Leonardo felt honour-bound to repay their Sensei's kindness by becoming the best warrior that he could be and serving the Foot clan loyally. And Karai felt exactly the same, Master Saki having rescued her after she was orphaned in Japan. They had discussed it often.

Master Saki had his faults of course, but he was only human. What most disturbed Leo was how short-tempered his Sensei could be. There was never any warning; one moment he would be calm and collected, the next lashing out. Leo hadn't been on the receiving end of one of his tempers but one of his brothers had and still bore the scars to prove it. For a while after that he had wondered if he and his brothers should run away from the Foot headquarters, but in the end he had realised that four pre-teen mutant turtles were going to attract attention no matter where they went. Now he was glad that they hadn't. For the most part their Sensei was thoughtful, almost paternal toward them. Now they were getting older, it wouldn't be long before the four of them would be joining the Foot ninjas regularly on their missions. They had been on one or two, all of them proving they could hold their own and were just as talented and stealthy as the human members. Master Saki had promised that they would be needed very soon on a mission of particular importance but had refused to divulge further information. In the meantime, they were to go out in the field with the other Foot ninjas whenever there was a job for them to do.

The Foot had no missions that night and Leo wondered if he should seek out his brothers and maybe they should spend some time together. They had grown up together and as the only mutant turtles in existence, they had a bond. But that had weakened over the years, with all of them pursuing different interests and wanting different things. Donatello always seemed to be busy with his scientific studies. Raphael was spending altogether too much time with the Hun to make Leo comfortable – he had no reason to dislike Master Saki's trusted ally but that didn't change the fact that there was something about the Hun that Leo distrusted. And Michelangelo was more likely to be hanging out with the younger Foot ninjas than he was with any of his brothers. Leonardo was just as guilty of neglecting their family ties as his brothers were and he knew it – always trying to improve his ninjitsu skills in order to better serve the clan. He owed Master Saki that much at least.

Mind made up, Leo abandoned thoughts of meditation and wandered off to find his brothers.

&&&&&&&&&

Donatello narrowed his eyes as he made some alterations to the mouser with a screwdriver. The machine was a technological marvel, a testament to the genius of Baxter Stockman, with whom Donnie had been working for several months. He was grateful to Master Saki for affording him this opportunity – to be at Stocktronics, working with Stockman, was a dream come true for the turtle. He had learned a lot about engineering and had been able to put some of his own theories to the test. It was what he had always wanted.

And yet…there was something about Stockman that Donnie instinctively distrusted. The man wasn't particularly likeable, his ego huge and his talk always boastful, but Master Saki had warned him about that before he even met the doctor. It was something else, as if Stockman had only the most tenuous grip on normality and was too involved in his own delusions of grandeur to pay attention to the most simple of things. Stockman was a bully, a weak bully with no real power aside from his intellect, wanting revenge on a world he seemed to think had slighted him.

_Try growing up as a five foot tall mutant turtle and tell me how the world treats you badly, _thought Donatello as he made another adjustment to the mouser, one that would hopefully increase its durability. Master Saki had pulled him aside not long after he was introduced to Stockman and asked the turtle to keep an eye on the doctor, obviously having some misgivings of his own.

"Stockman cannot be trusted," Master Saki had said. "He is of use to the Foot clan but I have no doubt that should a better offer come along, he will betray us without remorse. Should anything arouse your suspicion, I should like you to inform me."

"I will Sensei."

But so far, Stockman had shown no sign of betraying the Foot. In fact, he was as excited about the mouser project as Donatello himself, claiming that the project was the key to great riches. Then he would give the turtle a sideways look and smirk, as if Donnie didn't know what he was talking about. But Donnie wasn't as naive as Stockman seemed to think he was and had a good idea of what the mousers other uses could be. It wasn't just rats they could seek out, as he was aware from his work on the machines.

Donnie rubbed his eyes and sighed as he finished his work on the mouser. Now all they had to do was test the robot out and if the upgrades were advantageous, the changes could be integrated to the rest of the machines. The test runs the previous week had all been a success but success was no reason not to continue improving things. The mousers had jaws like steel traps, able to chomp through bricks and mortar as easily as they could the hide of a rodent. Some of them had been lost as others caused mortar and bricks to fall on them as they chewed their way through water mains and walls deep down in the sewers…

The sewers. Letting the mousers into the sewers had caused Donnie some troubled thoughts and he had no idea why. It was the perfect testing ground for the experiment, no one to interrupt the test runs, no suspicion should anything go amiss. So why did he feel so uneasy about holding the tests there? It made no sense and Donnie hated things that made no sense.

Glancing up at the clock, Donnie decided to test the mouser's upgrades in the morning. He had told Stockman he would only be another ten minutes and that had been three hours ago. The doctor was long gone and the building would be empty. Perhaps when he got back to Foot headquarters he could see if Mikey was up for a movie and maybe some pizza.

The soft hum of the elevator took him by surprise. The only people authorised to descend to this level of the building were himself and Stockman, and of course the others working at Stocktronics had no idea that Donnie even existed. And the elevator was hidden, activated only by a secret password on Stockman's personal computer, meaning that it had to be Stockman in the elevator. But some sixth sense made Donnie duck into a hiding place, relying on his ninja training in stealth and invisibility to keep him out of sight. The lower lab wasn't the best place for that. The floor was taken up by a conveyor belt system that was churning out mousers and the observation rooms were Perspex throughout. Only the control area had any kind of cover.

The elevator doors opened with a muted 'ping' and some one stepped out. Donnie had been unprepared for the sight of Stockman's lab assistant. He knew she didn't have security clearance to be down here. He knew a lot more about her than was strictly necessary, although wild horses wouldn't have dragged the confession from him. The room where he did most of his work was hooked up to the security system and he had often observed her as she worked, unaware that she was being watched by a mutant turtle. April, her name was. April O'Neil.

"Finally," he saw her mouth as she stepped onto the walkway and headed for the control room, her attention taken up by the mousers being created below her. So intent on the sight that she didn't notice walking through a motion detector, giving herself away without even realising. Donnie winced. The girl was toast.

"I don't care how bad the city's rodent problem is – this is serious overkill." She strode briskly over to the computer at the desk and sat down, not noticing as she passed Donnie's hiding place, typing rapidly on the keys. The elevator doors slid shut silently and she didn't hear the humming as it ascended again.

Donatello heard. He knew that the only way for the elevator to be going up again was if some one had summoned it and that some one had to be Stockman. April was in a lot of trouble and she didn't even know about it.

There were several options open to him, but he decided to take the wisest one and remain where he was until he found out what was going to happen. Maybe nothing would. Stockman might choose to just fire her – unless she found something incriminating on the computer.

Her slim fingers tapped on the keys and she irritably brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear. "Rat problem my eye. What are you _really_ up to Stockman?"

Her voice masked the 'ping' as the lift once more opened, this time Stockman walking out. "Now now Miss O'Neil. That would be telling."

With a gasp, April rose and turned to face Stockman. She backed away as he approached; evidently realising she had just landed herself in a lot of trouble. Much to Donnie's relief, Stockman didn't seem to realise he was still there either. But then, why should he? As far as the doctor was concerned, the turtle had gone homes hours ago, there was no sign of another person in the room and he was all alone with his lab assistant.

"Suffice it to say, my mousers will make me a very rich and powerful man." Stockman had his hands behind his back and Donnie heard the electronic whine as the large window behind April slid down, indicating that the doctor was hiding a remote device.

"But – aren't you already a very rich and powerful man?"

"Ah, Miss O'Neil! So brilliant, yet so naïve." Stockman adjusted his glasses and shook his head in mock dismay. "I shall truly miss working with you."

"What! You mean I'm fired?"

"In a manner of speaking."

The robotic claw that was typically used to pluck faulty units from the conveyors and deliver them into the control room moved through the open window, activated by the remote control behind Stockman's back. It grabbed April by the back of her lab coat and pulled her out through the window, leaving her dangling perilously above the mouser making machines. April yelled in panic, squirming against the grip of the claw until her lab coat tore, dropping her onto the conveyor belt that housed the finished mousers.

"I'm afraid I can't let you live Miss O'Neil." Stockman glanced out over the area, adjusting his tie and typing instructions into the keyboard, adjusting the mousers' settings. "You've seen far too much already and…well; let's just say I have trust issues."

Discarding her shredded lab coat, April gaped in horror as the mousers advanced. Grabbing a fire extinguisher from the wall, she aimed it at the robots, backing up slowly. "Keep back! I know how to use this!"

One of the mousers gave a metallic roar and April released the nozzle, sending a cloud of carbon dioxide at the robots. It didn't affect them at all; the same mouser coming at her in a run. Panicked, she swung the extinguisher at it, caving in its head. A second swing put the makeshift weapon right in the path of another mousers jaws and it ate through the metal easily, snatching the object from April and chewing it into pieces. Her last line of defence gone, the woman turned and ran. She dodged her way past a crowd of mousers and found the lever that released the doorway to the sewer.

"You can run Miss O'Neil." Stockman's voice caused April to turn back and send a terrified glance behind her. "But you cannot hide from my mousers."

Losing sight of April as she raced through the doors to the sewer, Stockman snorted and strode back into the elevator. She could only run for so long, trapped in the maze of dark, dirty sewers. When she tired, the mousers would finish her off. He pressed the button to go back up, feeling quite pleased with himself. Much as he hated to lose such a gifted assistant, it was a problem that he had dealt with himself and not had to involve that maniac Saki in. That alone deserved some congratulations.

As soon as the elevator began to rise, Donnie slipped out of his hiding place and went over to the still-open window. Through the cloud of carbon dioxide, he could see the mousers running out of the exit to the sewers, presumably still hunting down April. And that left Donatello in a quandary. She could have compromised the Foot with her foolish interference, cost them one of their most profitable sidelines by exposing the truth behind the mousers to the public. Master Saki would order her immediate disposal, of that he had no doubt. Sensei had been good to them but he brooked no interference with his plans, nor was he especially merciful.

On the other hand, what did she know exactly? Not much. Only that there was more to the mouser project than met the eye and that was hardly enough to expose Stocktronics as a front for something more sinister. And it wasn't as if she was a warrior falling in battle; she was a scientist being chased by a hoard of robots. She had expected to work in engineering, not fight for her life in a sewer.

Donatello hesitated for another moment, feeling the comforting weight of his _naginata_ on his back, the weapon that his Sensei had chosen as being perfect for him and which he never went to the lab without. It didn't feel right to just leave her, it felt dishonourable, cowardly – but if anyone were to find out that he had tried to help her, Master Saki would be _furious_ and all the turtles knew the consequences of inspiring the wrath of their Sensei. Any time they forgot, they just had to look at Mikey.

What was he going to do?

&&&&&&&&&

She ran, no direction in mind as long as it would get her the hell away from the mousers. It was a rare day when she was grateful for her lack of social life, but right now all the extra time it had afforded her in the gym was very welcome. Even so, there was a difference between a leisurely jog on a treadmill with the top twenty playing in the background and being chased through ankle deep sludge by remorseless robots. She could feel the chill sinking into her bones, the acoustics of the tunnels echoing her splashing steps and ragged breathing. Behind her, she could hear the squeals that the mousers made, meaning they were still on her trail. And she knew there was no way to throw them off. They were too well designed, thanks in part to her.

_Well done O'Neil. Couldn't you have been a bit less of a perfectionist about this job?_

She entered a runoff point, giving her three different tunnels to choose from. Momentarily she paused, turning in a circle as she tried to get her bearings, think about where exactly she might be.

"Which way out? Which way _out_?"

She chose a tunnel at random and continued running down it, hoping against hope that the mousers would choose the wrong path. Not likely. They could read body heat and there was nothing else her size down here. She was history.

Her clothes were drenched from her initial stumble into the filthy water, making it more difficult to run, and she was finding it hard to see thanks to the dark and shadows. Stumbling out of the tunnel, she risked another glance behind her but couldn't see anything following her. She turned a corner and kept running, shooting another look over her shoulder and turning back just in time to avoid running into two mousers that had managed to get ahead of her. Turning back in the direction she had come in, her retreat was cut off by another two mousers. All of them advanced, leaving her no choice but to duck into another tunnel and go on running. But now her strength was ebbing, her stamina deserting her. She wasn't going to be able to run much further.

Her foot caught on something hidden under the murky waters and she fell, landing face down in the gunk. Her disgust was overridden by her terror and she scrambled to her hands and knees, manoeuvring into a sitting position and shoving herself backward as she realised the mousers were there, too many to avoid even if she had the energy to go on running. She couldn't even get to her feet. Her back hit a boarded up tunnel and she tried to pull the boards away, but to no avail. This was it. Her life was going to end down here in the dark and no one would ever find out what had happened to her…

A mouser leapt at her and she screamed, hiding her face so she wouldn't have to see when it buried its jaws into her flesh.

But the anticipated pain never came. Instead she heard a noise, like a blade slicing through metal, and the sound of machinery raining into the water. The light that had illuminated the tunnel, coming from the torches on the mousers metal skulls, died suddenly and plunged her back into darkness. Tentatively, she dropped her hands from her face and squinted into the gloom. The mousers floated in the water around her, destroyed. And there was a shadow before her, a person standing some distance away, too far into the dark for her to make out any features.

"Oh…oh! Thank you! Thank you so _much_! You saved my…my…" She trailed off as she realised something was _wrong_ with the shadow. It was undeniably a person but the proportions were all wrong. The body wasn't the usual human shape. And it was short for a grown up, yet it surely couldn't be anything else, not if it could dispose of the mousers so rapidly.

_And why would anyone be down here in the first place – unless they followed me…_

The figure moved its head slightly, indicating to a space behind it. "There's a manhole a few hundred yards away. You can get to the surface that way. And I'd advise you to get out of New York and forget what you think you know about Stocktronics."

She blinked, anger beginning to break through her fear now that the mousers were neutralised. The voice was undoubtedly male but the attempt at authority was too forced, suggesting to her that the speaker was an adolescent. Being told what to do by a teenager, coupled with her near-miss with the mousers, was making her irritable. "What I _think_ I know? I know that Stockman just tried to kill me!"

"And if you go shouting about it, I can't save you the next time. Lie low for a while April. Stay away from Stockman and keep what you know to yourself."

"How do you know my name?"

The figure shrugged. "Do what I said. If Stockman doesn't know you're alive, then he won't come after you."

She struggled to her feet as the figure moved backward and was lost in the shadows. "Wait! Who are you?"

There was no response. She made a cursory search of the tunnel but there was no sign of her rescuer although she did locate the manhole he had told her about. Suddenly desperate to be out of the dank and home, she scrambled up the ladder and fought to raise the lid, pulling herself out of the sewer and finding herself in an alley about three miles from her house. She had the keys to her apartment in her pocket but her purse was back at the lab meaning she couldn't get a cab, assuming one would even stop for her the state she was in. She was going to have to walk.

Life sucked. But at least she had a life, thanks to her anonymous saviour.

&&&&&&&&&

Author note: A _naginata _is a weapon similar to a bo but with a blade on one end. I thought that the turtles may not have the same weapons in this fic as they would in the event of Splinter raising them. I've not completely decided on the weapons the other turtles will wield, so any suggestions will be taken on board. Leave a review before ya go!


	3. Going Through The Motions

**Author Note: **The first of two – the second will be at the end just to give descriptions of some of the weapons mentioned. If I've been inaccurate with the weapons, please feel free to tell me. I'd like to thank Meathead for the suggestion for Raph's weapons, he was giving me the most problems and I was beginning to think he'd be keeping the sai. Thanks also to Rat Queen Valarian and Longing for Leo for further weapon suggestions – both will be making appearances in the fic, although Leo's weapons won't show up just yet. And as always, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I guess it shows that I'm having a lot of fun with this fic!

&&&&&&&&&&

Raphael adjusted his beanie cap and frowned. He hated dressing in all these clothes but Master Saki had been adamant. If he was going to go out with the Purple Dragons, then he was going to have to go in disguise. The fact that he was let out with the Dragons at all had come as a surprise. Raph needed to go out from time to time, blow off some steam, be outside in the world instead of hiding away in Foot headquarters, but he had never expected his Sensei to allow it.

It was Hun who had argued his corner. Unbeknown to Raph, he had reminded Saki that it might be a good idea to let the turtle think he was getting his own way and at the same time consolidating the Dragons power. Raph's loyalty was to the Foot clan, but if hanging with the Dragons on occasion made him happy then it didn't hurt their plans. Plus Raph was tough. Some of the more dangerous of the Dragons plans could use the extra muscle he brought to the gang. And if Hun could divide his time between the Foot and the Dragons, then so could Raph.

Some of the Dragons had been getting into trouble of late. A masked vigilante had been attacking them on their jobs, beating the hell out of them and leaving them lying in pools of their own blood. For that reason, both Hun and Raph had opted to go on this job and Raph was hoping that the masked man would show up. It had been a while since he had been able to get into a really good fight. He let his fingers brush the handles of his sun and moon daggers, the weapon Master Saki thought would most suit his temperament when he deemed them ready to advance in their training. He'd love for some baseball bat wielding asshole to try to take him down. Raph could slice through the guy's carotid before he knew what had hit him.

"Done here," said one of the Dragons as he exited the warehouse carrying the last of the boxes. Raph sighed as he followed them to the van. No action for him tonight and he had really been looking forward to kicking the hell out of some do-gooder punk. The thought of going back to the Dragons hideout and listen to them all congratulate themselves was not something he wanted. He was too tense. He'd end up getting into another scrap with one of them and have to put up with another reminder from Hun about keeping the gang on their side.

"I'm gonna split," he announced to Hun. "See ya back at Foot HQ."

"Sure," said Hun absently, checking out the haul. Raph waited a moment for Hun to try to persuade him to go back with the Dragons and when he didn't, took off, leaping onto the fire escape and heading home via the rooftops. There was something about travelling high above the citizens of New York without them realising he was there that made him feel free, temporarily ridding him of his troubles.

His main problem at the moment was the way he felt about the Dragons. Robbing warehouses and shops? It was so _petty_. Plus he knew that many of the gang weren't above purse snatching and random beatings to innocent passers by and Raph wasn't into that at all. Proving his fighting ability against an equally gifted or heavily armed opponent was one thing but attacking some woman on her way home from work was hardly a challenge and wasn't even likely to yield a big payoff. It was more an action of the desperate, or some one trying to make themselves feel tough by intimidating some one who couldn't fight back. And the Dragons were hardly desperate.

At the same time, at least his association with the Dragons got him out of Foot headquarters for a while. He knew his temper was starting get out of control, but he was so _frustrated_ at not being able to go out into the world like normal people. It didn't seem to bother his brothers as much as it did him but he knew it got to them too sometimes. That was why Master Saki had tried to accommodate them as much as possible, allow them some semblance of normality by letting them mix with the Foot soldiers and various others. Donnie was delighted by his new role at Stocktronics, Leo had always liked going on training runs with Karai before she left for Japan and teaching the Foot soldiers the art of invisibility, Mikey had been known to sneak out of the skyscraper with some of the Foot and go to a movie or an arcade and Raph had his illegal excursions with the Dragons. But it still wasn't enough for Raph. He felt trapped.

His conflicting feelings about his Sensei weren't helping his state of mind. He knew that Master Saki had rescued them, taken them in and taught them to be ninja, shielded them from a world that wouldn't understand their differences to other people. But he couldn't bring himself to trust him, not anymore. Not after what had happened to Mikey. Up until that day Raph had been protective of his brother, who seemed the most innocent of all of them. Afterward, Mikey had withdrawn from them all and refused point blank to discuss what had happened. It was Raph's opinion that if there was one moment when the four began to drift apart, that was it. Every time they looked at Mikey the message was reinforced; don't cross the boss. Or else.

Seeing Foot headquarters on the next block, he dropped to the road and walked in like any normal person would, safe in the knowledge that his clothes would deter too much attention to him. The digitised lock recognised his hand print (hard to mistake it for one of the Foot) and let him in. It was still early and Raph decided to see if any of his brothers were free for some quality time on a games console or for some sparring. He needed to do something to work off the anger he had been saving for the vigilante who never showed up.

&&&&&&&&&

Donatello put the DVD in the machine and sat on the sofa beside Mikey, still preoccupied. He had the feeling he had done something stupid by saving April from the mousers. He was sure that none of them had caught his image but still…the woman could seriously compromise the mouser operation, especially if she put two and two together when Stockman put the next phase of the plan into action and used the mousers to get into bank vaults. He could only hope that she had taken his advice and left town – and what if she hadn't? What if she decided to shoot her mouth off and Hun grabbed her, interrogating her? Some one that fragile and unused to fighting couldn't hold out for long against Hun's particular form of questioning and she might tell him about her mysterious saviour. After that it was only a matter of time before they worked out who had aided her.

Some way to show his gratitude to his Sensei.

In spite of that, Donnie couldn't bring himself to regret what he had done. Terrorising the helpless seemed wrong to him and in spite of endangering their secret, he would do the same thing again. Honouring ones Master was all well and good, but Master Saki had known nothing about April. Maybe if he found out, Donatello could pass it off as trying to get one up on Stockman.

"You gonna eat that slice or just stare at it?"

"Huh?" Donnie frowned as he realised he'd been holding his pizza for the last five minutes without taking a bite. "Oh right. I was just thinking about a problem with the mousers."

Mikey snatched another slice from the box between them while Donnie began chewing on his original piece. There was silence for a few minutes.

"Mikey?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think… would Sensei ever, y'know, get really mad if we messed up? Maybe make us leave?"

Mikey laughed without humour, turning to face his brother and showing the right hand side of his face. The scars there were shallower than where they began on his left shoulder but were still obvious, disfiguring. "Don't you think I'm the wrong person to ask?"

"Sorry Mike." Donnie tried to cover his embarrassment. It was easy sometimes to forget how Mikey got hurt.

"It's OK." Mikey checked the pizza box and came up empty. "Why do you ask? You mess up somehow?"

"No! No, I didn't do anything. I was just thinking."

Mikey nodded and turned his attention back to the film, leaving Donnie feeling like a traitor. When exactly had they stopped trusting each other, confiding their secrets and problems? After Mikey had been injured and refused to ever mention it again? When Leo had been promoted to training the new Foot soldiers? When Raph had begun hanging out with the Purple Dragons? He honestly couldn't remember. It felt as if one day they would trust each other with their lives, then overnight had begun suspecting each others motives. They all tried, but it was like going through the motions. And Mikey would be the brother most likely to understand what Donnie had done. God help him if he tried confiding in Leo or Raph.

Leo chose that moment to knock on the door and enter the room. "Been looking for you guys. Mind if I join you?"

"Grab a seat," said Donnie. There was no chance of him talking to Mikey now. If Leo knew that Donnie had done something to endanger the Foot, he'd never hear the end of it. He might even tell Sensei. "You haven't missed much."

"Except the pizza," said Mikey.

"What?" Leo feigned outrage. "You ate my share of the pizza?"

"Wise man say sharing is good, but never let pizza go cold." Mikey gave Leo a grin but it was a ghost of the smile he used to wear a few years ago.

_Going through the motions_ thought Donnie.

Raph turned up half an hour later, bursting in without knocking. "Hey guys."

"Hey Raph," said Donnie absently. "Have fun tonight?"

"No." Raph threw himself onto the nearest available seat and folded his arms. "Anyone up for some sparring practice after the movie?"

"Sure thing," said Mikey. "Gonna whip your ass!"

"Not even on your best day," said Raph with a smirk.

Donnie barely heard the bickering. His mind was still on the possible consequences of his heroics.

Raph threw a cushion at Leo. "Hey, you're quiet tonight."

"Hmm?" Leo caught the cushion in one hand before registering what Raph had said. "Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking."

"About katas or something," said Mikey, rolling his eyes.

"Nope," said Raph with an evil glint in his eyes. "About _Karai_."

"I was not," said Leo a little too defensively.

Mikey did his best Jamaican accent, which was truly horrible. "No woman, no Karai…"

Leo hurled the cushion in Mikey's direction, managing to look embarrassed, amused and outraged at the same time. Mikey batted it away, straight into the side of Donnie's head. Donnie seized on it and began hitting Mikey over the head, glad of the distraction from his other thoughts. It was times like this when he felt as close to his brothers as he had ever been. But the thought of telling them what he had done – he wasn't sure. He loved them, of course he did, but he wasn't sure that he could trust them.

&&&&&&&&&

Mikey had been up sparring with Raph until the early hours of the morning, but he was unsurprised when he jolted awake at five am. He had been dreaming. Again.

He'd been having the same dream for as long as he could remember, at least once a month, sometimes as often as once a week when he was under stress. After he got his scars, he'd dreamed every night for eight days and the lack of sleep as much as the injuries had made him irritable and depressed.

It was always the same. He was in a dark, cold place, cowering in a corner. In the background he could hear distant water dripping. Hun was towering over him, laughing maliciously. In one hand he held something or some one, but Mikey had never been able to see who it was. He was aware of Leo on one side of him and Donnie on the other, both tensed in fear. Behind Hun were Foot soldiers, dressed in black, also seeming at least ten feet tall. He opened his mouth to shout something about Raphael and Hun would turn to look at him – and that was when he woke up. The dream never failed to stress him and there was no more sleep to be had after he'd had it.

Dragging himself out of bed, he wandered into the bathroom next door to wash his face, trying to regain his senses. He knew he wasn't going back to sleep but it didn't mean he wasn't tired. Grabbing a towel to dry off, he caught sight of his face in the mirror and looked away quickly. He never looked at his reflection if he could help it. Two long scars ran across his body, beginning on his left shoulder where they were deepest and most vivid, running sideways to his neck, a gap in the scarring on the underside of his chin before they began again on the tip, running up his right cheek, turning his mouth into a permanent grimace, tapering out as the innermost one reached the corner of his eye. He was lucky, he supposed. Another half an inch to the left and he would have lost the orb.

The day he received the scars had been the worst of his life. The four of them had been preparing for their training session with Master Saki, learning how to fend off attacks from others. Everyone was supposed to be unarmed. Mikey had been in a fine mood, joking and laughing, a smart-ass comment for everything his brothers said. For a wonder, they hadn't been exasperated with his irreverence. Even Leo had been sniggering. And the damn session hadn't even begun. They were just lining up ready when Master Saki had picked the metal claw that made up part of his armour off his desk and lashed out at Mikey before he could even wonder what was going on. Immediately he had felt blood pour from the wounds, hearing it dripping on the floor as it flowed out. He had clapped a hand to his face, unable to work out how it had happened.

He had been nine years old.

Raphael had shaken off the shock first, taking a couple of steps toward Mikey and exclaiming over the wound before Master Saki had stepped between them.

"It is a mere scratch." Sensei's voice had been cold. "Kindly return to your position."

"You hurt Mikey!" Raph had sounded horrified and defiant all at once and Mikey knew that if Raph lost his temper with their Sensei, he was going to get into trouble too.

"I'm alright Raph," he said, his mouth feeling odd as he spoke. It was only later he discovered the claw that Master Saki had used to cut him had sliced it open. "It's just a scratch."

"It doesn't _look_ like a scratch," said Leo quietly. "It looks serious."

"It's _just a scratch_," insisted Mikey, verging on desperation.

Master Saki nodded his approval. "There are two lessons to be learned here. The first is that if you are standing, you are not too badly injured to continue fighting."

Leo's eyes flashed defiance at Master Saki. "What's the second?"

Master Saki smirked and brought his face close to Michelangelo's. "_Grow up_."

Mikey smiled sadly as he remembered the rest of that session. He had grown up all right. The training had gone on only another fifteen minutes, and most of that they had spent leaving tacky footprints painted in his blood on the floor. His brothers had been pale with horror and fear, not quite daring to defy their Sensei but worried for their brother. It seemed like an age when Mikey had finally given in to the dizziness and didn't get up after being knocked off his feet. Master Saki had ended the session and waited for the turtles to bow to him before leaving them to haul Mikey to the resident doctor to be stitched up. He had lost a lot of blood and the doctor had debated a transfusion, but eventually decided against it, unsure how a mutant might react to such a thing. Master Saki had insisted on Mikey being at the practice the next day, no rest for such a trifling injury, and after a while the other three seemed to work their way through their resentment, forgetting that their brother had ever looked any different or how he might have gotten the scars. Or so it seemed to Mikey.

Sometimes he hated them for it.

He knew it was wrong of him, but he couldn't help it. He had felt like the odd one out for years. Master Saki encouraged Leo's dedication to his training, nurtured Raph's destructive streak and helped Donnie find a place he could advance his engineering skills. Mikey was a good fighter, had mastered the difficult _chigiriki _techniques that eluded his brothers, but had none of the passion for ninjitsu that Leo and Raph showed and he wasn't useful like Donnie. He had nothing to offer.

_Get off the self-pity streak already!_

Walking out of the bathroom, he decided to go and see if any of the kunoichi were awake yet. The male Foot ninja always lay in late, but there was nearly always at least one girl doing something devious with poisons and he could do with some company if just to keep his mind off his troubles.

Sure enough, in the part of the Foot headquarters where most of the kunoichi hung out were two girls, one dozing on the couch, the other idly playing with a tessen. Glancing up, the girl with the tessen brightened. "Hey Mikey!"

"Hey Yuriko." Mikey dropped himself into a seat nearby. "What ya doing?"

"I'm making a hit tonight, just waiting to get in some practice." Yuriko flipped her wrist and the tessen opened out. Mikey was impressed. Even knowing it was a deadly weapon, it looked like an inoffensive fan. "If Kino _ever_ brings the rations for solitary."

"Why are you taking them their rations?"

Yuriko made a disgusted noise. "I lost a bet. I just know that little shit cheated somehow, but until I work out how I'm stuck doing his jobs."

"I'll take them," said Mikey.

"You?" Yuriko gave him a surprised look. "You've never done it before."

"It's taking a few meals to a few rooms. How hard can it be?"

"You hate going near solitary."

Mikey shrugged, not replying. In truth, he wanted Yuriko to get in as much practice as she could before the hit tonight. His greatest fear was that one day some one would get the drop on one of his friends when they were off on Foot business and end up dead. Yuriko was going to kill someone tonight and if she was slightly off, she could be the one who died. So far, neither him nor his brothers had been on a mission where there were likely to be fatalities, although Raph's sideline with the Purple Dragons was causing him some concern. And he knew it was only a matter of time before they too were all on some dangerous mission and maybe they wouldn't all come back.

"Sure, thanks," said Yuriko eventually. "There are two people in regular solitary, one in high security. Just remember not to talk to them. And don't tell Kino."

"Tell Kino what?" Kino chose that moment to walk in, shoving a cart with trays of unidentifiable gunk on.

"She's got a crush on you," said Mikey promptly.

"Mikey!" Yuriko threw the tessen so it embedded in the wall just above his head.

"Um, I think I'll leave you guys to it," muttered Kino, hurrying out. Mikey sniggered as Yuriko shot him an irritated glance.

"I think that made his day," he grinned. Yuriko made a threatening gesture and Mikey decided it might just be time to go give those in solitary their breakfast. He grabbed the handle of the cart and made himself scarce.

"The mighty ninja on another top-secret mission," he murmured ruefully, eyeing the occupied rooms. Solitary stretched for an entire corridor, with a longer corridor leading off from it where Mikey had never been, known as the high security section. Here was where the members of the Foot clan were segregated for their failures or insolence. Mikey had been here more times than he could count. Mostly Master Saki chose to mete out punishment in a more physical manner but sometimes it wasn't enough. Mikey had heard rumours about people the Foot had captured being held here for interrogation and although he could well believe that Master Saki would use such methods to elicit information about his enemies, he wasn't sure that Sensei would bother bringing them back to Foot headquarters for something like that. Too risky.

Only three people to look out for today. The first was in Mikey's usual solitary room, a kunoichi, gossip within the clan being that she had been seen making her escape by the wife of a man she was supposed to seduce and then poison. The second was in the room next to it, a ninja who had inadvertently stabbed himself in the leg with a kama. Leo himself had sent him there, announcing that he couldn't stand to look at the kid until he had calmed down.

Mikey opened the doors and dumped the food in front of the disgraced Foot members, giving them a comforting smile. If there was one thing he was familiar with, it was messing up.

The third meal looked lonely on the cart and Mikey wandered down the corridor toward high security, mildly curious as to why anyone would be kept confined there. Turning the corner, he saw a closed door at the far end of the corridor and realised that was his final destination. The lights were muted down here and found himself reverting to his ninja training automatically, abandoning the squeaky cart and carrying the tray silently to the door.

The door was another surprise. The other members of solitary were in simple rooms with a key card lock on them. This one was much more complicated, needing a palm scan before the door would open. Mikey realised his print would be unlikely to open the door, but fortunately there was a hatch set in the door for the tray to go through which worked on the same system as the doors further along the corridor. Opening it, he placed the tray on the shelf within.

"Breakfast!" he announced with forced cheer. The oppressive atmosphere was getting to him. This guy must have done something seriously wrong to end up here.

A pair of eyes appeared suddenly at the hatch, startling him. He could make out nothing about the person within save for the brown irises that looked back at him. He stood his ground, refusing to show just how unnerved he was.

"Michelangelo…"

Mikey's eyes widened. "How the shell do you know my name? Who _are_ you?"

"It has been a long time," continued the person within, a man by the sound of the voice although Mikey had never heard a rustier, less used intonation. "But I am glad to see that you are alright. And your brothers? They are also thriving?"

"Wh…what do you know about my brothers?" Mikey didn't know what to think. He knew he shouldn't stay and listen to this person – he was probably an enemy of Master Saki, trying to talk his way out of captivity – but there was something compelling him to remain. Something about the voice was familiar…

"We have met, a long time ago. Before you came to this place."

"I don't know what you're talking about! I've always lived here!"

There was a pause and Mikey tried to make out further details of the person. It was no good. Apart from the whiteness of his eyes, his face was shrouded in darkness.

"Your face. Did Oruku Saki do that?"

Mikey reached up to touch his scars, before reality came crashing in. If he was caught speaking with the prisoner, he could be in serious trouble. Master Saki would go ballistic! Without replying to the question, he turned and raced away from the door, snatching at the cart as he passed it and dragging it noisily away. The eyes stared through the hatch for long minutes after he had departed, the sigh from within the room unheard by anyone.

"My son…"

&&&&&&&&&

**Author Note: **Sun and Moon daggers are actually a Chinese rather than a Japanese weapon, a two-bladed implement with a semi-circle handle. When I saw them, I knew they had to be Raph's new weapon.

_Chigiriki_ is a two-foot long stick with a two-foot chain attached. At the other end of the chain is a ball with spikes, kinda like a mace.

Kunoichi is what female ninja were sometimes called. A tessen looks like a fan but can actually be used as a club or a sharpened for use as a blade. I love the idea of this weapon, I'm not sure why.


	4. Decisions

**Author Note: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Reviews give me the warm fuzzies. Apologies to everyone awaiting the epilogue of 'Blue', been having some problems with it but I'm working on them. And series 3 of TMNT is beginning on Sunday, so SS is doing the happy dance all over the house!

It's been brought to my attention that the rating for this fic might be too high. What do you all think? It's gonna get more violent from here on in so I'm not sure about changing it but I've been wrong before - many, many times!

&&&&&&&&&

Michelangelo sat on his bed, trying to force the confused tangle of thoughts in his mind into some kind of coherence. There was no way the prisoner could have known his name, yet he had called him by it. He knew about the other turtles. He even knew what had happened to his face – although the shape of the scars matched Master Saki's weapon of choice, so maybe that wasn't too hard to figure out.

Master Saki had told them all the story of how they came to be years before; he had found them at the lab of an enemy who had been planning on using the young mutants in some kind of unspeakable experiment. So maybe this person was the enemy from whom they had been rescued. But it was their Sensei who had named them after their rescue, so how could their former captor know his name?

_Or maybe Master Saki lied to you._

"No he didn't," Mikey muttered to himself in response. "This prisoner's the one who's lying."

_Then how does he know about you and your brothers?_

"I don't know! Maybe he overheard someone talking about it. I'm not exactly hard to mistake for someone else."

_So you're just going to blindly trust in Sensei._

Mikey sighed. Nothing about this situation made any sense. He wanted desperately to ask one of his brothers for their opinion, let them worry about it for a while. But which of them could he tell?

Leo. Unlikely. He would be mad at Mikey for speaking to the prisoner in the first place, the rules in solitary were clear, be it for an incompetent Foot ninja or a dangerous captive. He would tell point out the numerous ways the prisoner could have discovered the information and make Mikey feel like a moron.

Donnie. No. The previous night he had been so wrapped up in whatever the problem with the mousers was that he had barely noticed his three brothers in the same room. And Donnie would favour the logical approach to the issue, assuming he took Mikey seriously, finding out as much about the prisoner as they could and that would mean hacking into Foot computers or asking around. Both solutions were likely to get them noticed.

Raph. Maybe. He was more understanding about Mikey's transgressions than the other two and would know the need to keep the discovery a secret. Assuming of course that he didn't call his brother an idiot and laugh at his gullibility, falling for some stupid line a prisoner had spun.

The door banged open, causing Mikey to jump. Raph strode in and stopped in front of the bed, arms folded.

""You're still in bed? Don't tell me you forgot the time. We're due in training in five minutes!"

Mikey considered telling Raph that he had been awake for hours but a glance at the clock changed his mind. Master Saki took a very dim view of them being late for training and Mikey was always careful not to anger his Sensei if he could help it. Not that his caution seemed to make a lot of difference. Master Saki seemed to hold Mikey in contempt that he tried not to show. Now might not be the best time to make any decisions about telling his brothers what the prisoner had told him.

Climbing off the bed, Mikey followed Raph down the corridor toward the large dojo where Sensei spent most of his time meditating, managing his business interests or sparring. He knew he needed to focus, that Sensei would notice if he were distracted, but the words of the mysterious prisoner kept echoing in his mind.

"Raph?"

"What?"

"What's your first memory?"

Raph stopped briefly and gave Mikey a curious look. That was an odd question, even for him. "Why do ya wanna know?"

"Dunno. Just curious."

Raph considered for a moment. "I can remember being in the dojo and thinking it was the biggest room in the world. I guess that's it."

"Oh."

Conversation apparently over, Raph continued to the dojo with Mikey trailing behind, debating the truth of his statement. The dojo was the first thing he could remember seeing, but there was something he'd neglected to mention to his brother. He could remember an auditory memory with no images to go with it, Mikey shouting his name and something else…

_"Sp'inta!"_

…Something he'd been shouting. But it made no sense and he dismissed it. If he told Mikey his first memory was of voices he'd never hear the end of it, his wise-ass brother joking about how he'd always been a psycho or something. And this close to the dojo, he didn't want to risk it. The memory of Mike's face pouring with blood and his shocked expression had been with him ever since the day it had happened and although he had been unable to do anything about it at the time, he was determined that nothing like it would ever happen again, not if he could prevent it. And if that meant curbing Mikey's exuberance, then that's what he'd have to do. No matter how much he missed it.

&&&&&&&&&

Oruku Saki sat in front of a low table, paper strewn over every surface. In the two hours since he had dismissed the turtles, he had gone through every last one of them and found the thing he had been looking for all these years.

The sword of Tengu.

It had been lost over the years, before he had relocated to America. A rogue Foot ninja whom he had foolishly trusted had taken the artefact and sold it. It had taken Saki three days to catch up with the traitor, less than half the time it had taken for him to die, the profit made from the sale not helping him escape his fate. The sword had seemingly vanished, the address the ninja had given them vacated. For too many years there had been no word, no sign of the mystical object and Saki had feared that his enemies had been able to get it into their possession. Without the sword, he might never find them. They had hidden themselves among the humans too well.

And then, finally, some good news. Donatello had been keeping an eye on the internet for him, a rough drawing of the sword to work from. The previous week, he had presented Saki with news of a Japanese exhibit to be displayed in a New York museum and featuring a sword similar to the one in the picture. There was no way he could be sure of course, but maybe it was what his Sensei had been searching for?

There had been only a poor quality photograph of the sword on the website and Saki had ordered his lackeys to search out more information. The hunt had paid off. There was no doubt that the sword in the exhibit was the sword of Tengu. And the best part was that he wouldn't have to go anywhere to retrieve it. The sword would be in the city in a few short days and then the Foot soldiers could go and take it…

No. He had a better idea. Let the turtles earn their keep. He would send them to get the sword. Although he would never admit it to them, they were among the most skilled of his warriors, perhaps even as good as the elite guard. There should be no real test of their skills with a simple break in and even if there was a night watchman, they could take him down easily. And it would further bind them to the Foot clan, appeal to Leonardo's pride, Raphael's taste for danger, Michelangelo's adventurousness, Donatello's inquisitiveness. They were the perfect candidates for this mission. All he had to do was wait.

&&&&&&&&&

Time passed differently in captivity.

Splinter had known it had been a long time since the night the Foot had taken the five of them prisoner. He had been beaten by the same monster who had murdered his Sensei and thrown into the tiny cell where he had been ever since, with only the most rudimentary facilities and no windows save the hatch through which food would be pushed. The door had been opened rarely since then and every time it was Oruku Saki who entered.

It had been years before the first visit. Years in which Splinter meditated, practiced his ninjitsu skills as best he could in the confined space. He tried not to let the taint of hatred infect his soul, but that had been hard. He had no idea if his sons were alive or dead. There was never any news. On the occasions he had swallowed his pride and asked the ninja who brought his meals, he had been ignored. So he spent his days worrying that his family had been killed by some whim of the Shredder.

The first time the door had opened, he had been taken by surprise. The Shredder had looked different to the night he had killed Master Yoshi, without his armour. But the Hun was behind him and Splinter could sense the presence of other ninja out of sight behind the door. Much as he wanted to attack with everything he had, he knew the attempt would be futile and may hinder any plans he was able to make in the future. So he had stilled his hand, much as it pained him to do so.

"They call me Master now, rat." Saki's face had been gloating. "They think of _me_ as their father."

Splinter felt his spirits rise at the news. His sons still lived! Although the Shredder had hoped to crush him with the reports of the turtles' allegiance, it was enough for him that they were alive. The Shredder's evil could only corrupt them so far; he had no doubt that his sons retained their good hearts and their bond with each other.

"They will make good Foot ninja," added Saki, laughing maliciously before turning and leaving, the door slamming shut behind him and leaving Splinter a prisoner once more. But now he had something he hadn't had before, a gift from Saki that he hadn't even known he was giving. Hope.

Splinter had redoubled his efforts, training in ninjitsu and pushing himself to his limits in preparation for the day he was able to escape this room. But more years had passed and the chance never arose. Again, a thread of fear had entered him that meditation could not always quell. Had his sons been seduced by the evil that Shredder revelled in? Did they even remember the things he had tried to instil in them, honour and family?

Did they remember him at all?

And today he had gotten his answer. He had recognised Michelangelo's voice, changed as it was over the years from the babyish attempts at mimicking his speech to the deep tone it now carried. He could sense the forced cheer and known immediately that he had to _see_, to lay eyes on his son for the first time in over twelve years.

It had gladdened him to see that Michelangelo seemed healthy, strong from years of training. But there was so much that troubled him in the brief glance at his son. The dim corridor had not been able to hide the look in his eyes, the worry and pain that seemed to cry out at him. And the scars of course.

Splinter clenched his fists, unable to keep the anger away. The scars were broken in places, suggesting that Michelangelo had grown since they were inflicted. And as soon as Splinter had mentioned Oruku Saki, the turtle had reacted in fear and fled. Shredder had trained the turtles and given them a home, but he was keeping at least one of them in a thrall of terror. How was he behaving toward the others?

He knew he should meditate, clear his mind of these distractions, but for the first time in a long time he had no desire to. Michelangelo had claimed not to know him, but there had been something in his eyes, some form of recognition. Splinter had to hope that he would turn to his brothers with the information about the prisoner who knew all about them and they would take it upon themselves to investigate. He would tell them about their origins and how the Shredder had kidnapped them, using them for his own twisted purposes. And if he could make them believe, then maybe they could free themselves from his evil influences, even if they could not save the rat that had fought so hard to protect them.

&&&&&&&&&

Baxter Stockman scowled as he surveyed the computer readings. April was dead, he knew it…but half the mousers he had sent after her had not returned and the ones that had showed no signs that they had attacked her. He was beginning to be concerned.

"Something wrong Dr Stockman?"

Stockman shot a look of dislike at Donatello, who was at work on an electronic cloaking device and missed it. He had been hoping that Saki would come to his senses and let him dissect the creature or one of the brothers he had mentioned, but his instructions on that had been clear. Donatello was a valued member of the Foot clan and wasn't to be injured in any way. Saki had hinted at another of the mutants that might be available at a later date, but so far nothing had been forthcoming. Saki didn't seem to realise that Stockman could use the information to genetically engineer a new breed of stronger, more capable mutants. The argument had revolved around another scientist, Stockman's predecessor, who had been murdered by his own genetically engineered experiments, but the man had been an idiot, using mutated humans rather than growing his own. Admittedly it would take many years for the new breed of mutants to be viable but surely it was in the interests of science to let Stockman do his experiments. But no; Saki had proclaimed that he had no patience with such things, not when he had four of the creatures already.

"I sent some of the mousers on a test run last night and they have yet to return."

Donnie tensed, Stockman fortunately too preoccupied to notice. "Uh, maybe they got caught in another cave-in, like the ones we sent out the first time."

"Perhaps." Stockman went back to scowling at the computer and Donnie tried to look absorbed in what he was doing, his mind racing. Had he covered his tracks well enough? Or was April going to go to the police with what she suspected about Stocktronics?

A while later Stockman went to the upper levels of the building to check on some of the other scientists working for Stocktronics and Donnie took his chance. Listening for the elevator, he went over to Stockman's computer and looked up April's address, memorising it and then putting the computer back on the screen it had previously been on, covering his tracks. He'd have to check it out, see if she was still there or if she had taken his advice and blown town.

Donnie couldn't wait to leave the building at the end of the day, shrugging on a trenchcoat and fedora and going back to Foot headquarters via the back streets, walking slowly as he considered his options. There were depressingly few of them. The only thing that he could do was to hope that April kept quiet and Stockman didn't find out that she wasn't a snack for the mousers. He knew he ought to go and check on her apartment, find out if she was still there or not, but he felt reluctant. If she was there, then what? He didn't have a clue what he would do if she was still in New York…

"Hey there."

Donnie glanced around as two thugs fell into step with him and sighed. Purple Dragons. Great.

"Back off." He pulled up his fedora briefly and showed them his green skin. The pair widened their eyes and held up their hands in a placatory gesture.

"Sorry Raph. Didn't realise it was you."

_Do I look like Raph? _Donnie thought, irritated because he already knew the answer. To most people, the four of them were more or less identical save for the slight differences in their skin tones. _Do I SOUND like Raph?_

Ignoring them, he strode off down the street and began to hurry. Loitering around wasn't going to help anything. He had to go to April's place and find out if she was still there, if only for his own peace of mind. He knew approximately where the address was and grateful for the oncoming night, took the back streets to get there.

He found the address eventually, having some trouble. He had expected an apartment block, but April lived above an antiques shop that looked like it hadn't been open for a while. The window above the shop had a light coming from it and Donnie cursed silently. It could be that there was someone else living there or maybe he had the wrong place after all – but he suspected that April was still there and advertising her presence to anyone who cared to look. Going into the alley beside the building, he found a fire escape and crept up it, planning just to check that it was her and not someone else.

Taking pains to make sure he couldn't be seen from anyone within the apartment and trying to ignore the little voice in his head that told him he was behaving like a stalker, he peered through the window. He found himself looking at an open plan room, the kitchen directly ahead of him and beyond that a dining area and then the main part of the apartment. April was fussing around near the sofa, arranging a bowl of Doritos on the table beside it with some dip and grabbing the remote control to start a DVD before going over to the light and switching it off. She went back over to the sofa and sat down, apparently ready for an evening in front of the television.

_Great,_ thought Donnie irritably. _She nearly gets eaten by mousers and instead of leaving town; she's watching some damn chick flick_!

The window was easy, sliding up silently and Donnie scowled. Even an amateur could break into this place. What was she thinking? The trenchcoat gave him a couple of problems but nothing he couldn't handle and in moments he was in her apartment unnoticed. It didn't hurt that she was totally engrossed in the film. He leant on the kitchen counter and regarded her for a moment before deciding the faint light from the television wasn't going to allow her to see him very well and cleared his throat.

April shrieked, whipping her head around to look at him and making as if to scramble off the sofa. Donnie held up a placating hand. "Don't move."

She stared at him for a moment, her mind spinning. She recognised the voice, the same guy who had saved her from the mousers – but what the _hell_ was he doing in her apartment?

Remembering her initial impressions of him, that there had been something essentially wrong with his silhouette, she again tried to make some observations about him and once again was thwarted by the lack of light. But she thought her original concerns may have been the result of her run-in with the mousers. This time he wore a long coat and an old-fashioned hat and he although he seemed bulky, there was nothing especially odd about that.

"Wh-why are you here?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Why are _you_?" he countered. "I told you to get out of town. Do you _want_ Stockman to find you here?"

"I'm not going to be chased out of my own apartment!" April glared at the shadowy figure, cursing the urge to enjoy the movie in darkness. She could barely even see him. "And I won't be intimidated, not by Stockman and not by you either!"

The – man? Boy? – seemed a little taken back by her outburst. "I'm not here to intimidate you, but you have to understand, Stockman's beginning to suspect that something went wrong with his mousers and this is the first place he'll look if he thinks you're still alive. I got in here without even trying; you think this place could stand up to some of those mousers?"

"Don't you think a hoard of mousers chewing through the antique store might attract some unwanted attention?"

"It's not just the mousers. Stockman has some powerful friends. He doesn't need the mousers to make you disappear."

April scowled. "I won't be driven out of my home!"

With a sigh, the figure rubbed his forehead and April widened her eyes. Did he only have three fingers? No, couldn't be. It had to be the lack of light making it look like that.

"Have you told anyone what happened?"

"Huh?" April dragged her gaze away from that odd-looking hand. "No, I haven't said anything. Who'd believe me? I was chased into the sewers by glorified rat-catchers that my boss set on me because I was looking at his computer? The police would probably lock _me_ up."

"In that case, he might leave you alone." But the figure didn't sound convinced. "I still think you should leave town, for a few weeks at least. Then you can come back."

"I told you already, I'm not leaving."

Another sigh. "Then at least get your locks sorted out and keep a low profile. I'll do what I can to keep him off your back."

April had a ton of questions about why he was choosing to help her and how he knew so much about Stocktronics, but he was already moving to the window to leave, climbing onto the sill with ease. She stood up and made her way to the kitchen too late. He was already gone. She leaned out of the window and looked around – no one was that fast, he had to still be around somewhere – but she couldn't see any sign of him. It was as if the darkness had swallowed him.

Donatello could see April leaning out of the window and shook his head. Hadn't he just told her to keep a low profile? Couldn't she just listen to him? Still, he had done everything he could do here. Sticking to the shadows he went back to Foot headquarters. He had no wish to see his brothers that night and avoided the places they might be, heading to his room and closing the door behind him before ditching the disguise and turning to his computer. Hacking into Stocktronics wasn't easy, not with Stockman's genius and computer encryptions but he wasn't exactly unskilled in that department himself and he had done it before. It took some time, but he was able to get into the system and from there found employee records. April's details appeared on the screen and Donnie quickly changed the address, an abandoned shop he had seen close to her apartment now reading as where she lived. If Stockman were to check, he would go to the wrong place and find that no one had been there for a while. Or so he hoped. If Stockman could tell that the records had been tampered with…but Donnie didn't think he would be able to. He had covered his tracks as well as he could.

Turning off the computer and collapsing in front of his television, Donnie turned on the news and tried to take his mind off mousers and Stocktronics and crazy redheads who wouldn't do what they were told. If only he could ask someone if he was doing the right thing.

The news was the usual depressing tales of muggings, robberies and murders. Donnie began searching for the remote to change the station when something on the screen caught his eye. Footprints. Mouser footprints. He turned the volume up high so he could hear the report.

"…Was the scene today at the First National Bank…"

_Oh shit,_ thought Donnie, resting his head in his hands and wishing, not for the first time, that his life wasn't so complicated. He'd been expecting this move by Stockman for a while, alerted to the alternative uses the mousers were to be used for by his Sensei, but he had conveniently managed to push the thoughts to the back of his mind. If April saw the news reports, she'd have something on Stocktronics to go to the police with, something that they could believe. Stockman's ego had led him to appear on an earlier TV programme advertising his mousers as the solution to the city's rodent infestation – and April had appeared on the screen with him. If she was able to convince someone to take a closer look at Stocktronics, there was going to be problems. The company was screwed due to the investigation, April was screwed for coming out of hiding and attracting the wrath of the Foot, or he was screwed for aiding her escape.

_And I thought my life was complicated enough, being a mutant turtle trained in ninjitsu, working for a secret and ancient Japanese clan. But now? Complicated is an understatement._

Standing up, he began pacing the room, pausing occasionally to glare at the TV as if it were the cause of all his woes, taking out his _naginata_ and spinning it around. He was worried, confused and anxious and for once all his knowledge was doing him no good. He just didn't know what to do.


	5. The Truth?

Finally, new chapter up! Sorry it took so long, I have this bad habit of screwing up computers and managed to do it again, losing most of this chapter in the process. So it's been rewritten. For those of you following 'It Had To Be Blue', I should have the epilogue up at some time over the weekend (I lost that too, must learn how to back up my work!). And if you're into my stuff, I have a new one-shot out called 'Alone', which is very angsty and not like anything else I've written before.

Incidentally, I have decided to lower the rating, I think I was playing it a little too safe with the 'M'. I may raise it again depending on what happens in later chapters. Hit the review button on your way out and let me know if you think it was the right decision, and what you thought of the new chapter!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Mikey had been going insane trying to work out what to do. It was three days since he had spoken to the prisoner and he had barely been able to think of anything else. On several occasions he had thought of speaking to his brothers, but had decided against it - they still tended to think of him as the goofball, the naive one and they wouldn't take his concerns seriously. Even though he hadn't been especially prone to practical jokes in the last few years.

Staring at the ceiling had achieved nothing but further frustration and eventually he had decided to go see if anyone wanted to hang out. Not his brothers. He didn't think he could face them with the concerns he had floating around in his mind. Instead he had challenged Kino to a Mortal Kombat tournament, which the Foot ninja had eagerly accepted. They were still playing and shouting at the pixilised images on the screen two hours later and Mikey had finally managed to forget about the prisoner in favour of putting all his concentration into becoming Grand Supreme Champion Of All Time.

"Oh, you are SO dead!" Kino hammered on the buttons, trying desperately to force his character to escape a barrage of punches.

Doesn't look like that to me dude!" Mikey smirked, his entire attention on the screen. "Watch this - fatality!"

"No!" Kino tried again to make the unresponsive character fight back, cursing under his breath as on screen, blood began to fly - then a shout from outside distracted them both. Kino stood and went to look outside while Mikey watched curiously.

"What's going on?" asked Kino to someone Mikey couldn't see. The turtle dropped the keypad to the floor and stood, the euphoria he had felt at winning the game draining away and leaving only a bad feeling that something was amiss.

"What's happening?"

Kino turned back to Mikey, looking pale. "Yuriko's hurt. She went out with one of the others and she came back alone and she's bleeding all over the place. . . "

Mikey ran for the door, yanked it wide and raced down the corridor, Kino in hot persuit. It took them less than three minutes to reach the medical unit, where there were four kunoichi fussing around a prone figure on the bed. Mikey pushed past them, took a look at his friend and winced. A woman was holding a sodden piece of fabric to Yuriko's stomach but it was soaked with blood and Yuriko was gasping for every breath.

""Kino, go get the doc!"

""He's not here," said the kunoichi by the bed, eyes wide in panic. "Mari went looking for him, he's not anywhere. . ."

"Oh _shit_!" Mike grabbed the fabric from her and tried to stem the bleeding himself. "Go get Donnie."

"But. . ."

"Just _GO_!"

Both Kino and the kunoichi fled the room and Mikey looked around for something new to hold to the wound. Whatever the blood-soaked rag used to be, it was as good as useless now. "Hang on Yuri. You're gonna be fine, Donnie'll patch you right up, you'll be just fine. . ."

Yuriko opened her eyes. "You're babbling," she whispered, then coughed.

"Don't try to talk," said Mikey, spying a roll of gauze in the corner and grabbing it. Not substantial, but it would have to do. Why didn't he know anything about medicine? Why couldn't he have mastered some form of first aid in case something like this happened?

"I screwed up. . ."

"Stop trying to talk!" Mikey looked up at a woman stood nervously by the door. "What happened?"

"We're not sure - she just came back like this! It was supposed to be easy, there were two of them - she's been shot, I don't. . ."

There was a commotion further down the corridor and Donnie came bursting through the doors. Mikey might not have wanted to see his brothers that night but right then he had never been so glad to see anyone in his life.

"Oh my. . ." Donnie made his way to the bed and grabbed the gauze out of Mikey's hand, taking a look at the wound before meeting his brothers eyes and shaking his head. There was nothing that could be done for her.

But it wasn't in Donnie's nature just to give up.

"I need to know her blood type - you, go and check it out on the computer," he said, indicating to the woman by the door. "Mikey, kep applying pressure to the wound. Right, I'm gonna need. . ."

"No."

Both turtles turned to the door to see Master Saki standing there, arms folded as he surveyed the scene.

"Everyone, leave." Saki's voice brooked no argument and the remaining kunoichi silently exited. Don and Mikey exchanged looks but reluctantly made to follow them.

"Not you two."

Saki barely looked at them as he walked over to the bed and looked down at Yuriko. "What happened?"

"Master - he knew we were coming. . . had a gun and . . . killed the others. I'm sorry Master. . ."

Saki's expression didn't change. Mikey had kept hold of the compress when Sensei had told them to remain but he had a feeling it was a futile gesture. He wasn't going to let them even try to save her.

"I won't fail you again. . ."

"No. You won't." Saki raised his right hand high and Mikey felt a kind of helpless anger as he realised his Sensei had the claw that made up part of his armour covering his hand, the same claw that had given Mikey his scars. He bit down a yell and saw Donnie close his eyes as Master Saki buried the prongs in Yuriko's throat.

Saki went back to the door and glanced outside, a Foot ninja appearing from the shadows. "Get rid of this. And summon Leonardo. This insult cannot be tolerated."

The ninja bowed and vanished from sight, Saki turning back to the two horrified turtles. "There is no strength in compassion. She dishonoured the Clan and could not have been saved.You may leave now."

"Y-yes Sensei," said Donnie, remembering to bow before hurrying from the room. Mikey imitated his brother but his mind wasn't in the moment and he could only hope his Master didn't notice or didn't care. He kept seeing the flash as the light caught the twin blades, the weak spray of blood as the last of his friends life left her.

Kino was waiting for him at the end of the corridor and Mikey barely noticed as Donnie used the distraction to leave without him, not a word exchanged between them from the moment they left the med bay. It was obvious that Kino could read Mikey's expression; his face dropping.

"Is she. . . "

"Yeah." Mikey didn't bother with the whole story. He was too heartsick and beside, the whole thing made a kind of gruesome sense. Yuriko hadn't been going o live and Master Saki had put her out of her misery. If only he could convince himself that Sensei had done it for those reasons and not as some kind of lesson to those who would fail him. Making his way to his own room, Mikey sat on the bed, knees drawn up to his plastron, letting his thoughts go where they would instead of his usual habit of trying to convince himself that everything would work out for the best and that he needed to stay optimistic. He was sick of optimism. The worst always seemed to happen.

Conusion and sorrow were foremost in his mind, the sght of Yuriko's death mixing with the memories of the day he received his own scars, his Sensei's words overlapping with those of the prisoner. There seemed to be nothing that Master Saki wouldn't do to get his own way, maim, murder - and on top of that, it suddenly occured to him that killing the Foot would serve only to enrage Saki further and that if he had summoned Leo, then he might have plans to send his brother after a man capable of taking out two of the kunoichi. They had been young and pretty inexperienced, but if they had been taken out then the hit wasn't as simple as they had initially believed and Leo might be in trouble. For a few seconds Mike considered shadowing his brother but knew that Leo would be long gone by now. Shit. If something happened to Leo tonight, Mikey vowed he would kill Sensei himself.

It was about half an hour later that Raph burst into the room, still not having bothered to learn to knock. Mike barely noticed, too wrapped up in his own troubles to pay much attention.

"Mikey! Earth to Mikey!" Raph waved a three-fingered hand in front of his brothers face. "What's going on? Master Saki sent Leo out for something and Donnie locked himself in the lab and there's something going on with the Foot and you look like you just saw a ghost. . . Mike? What's wrong?"

"I hate him."

"Uh, who?"

"Saki. I fucking hate him."

Raph blinked at the venom obvious in Mikey's low voice. "What's been going on around here?"

Mikey sighed and glanced up at his brother, who was giving him a look of genuine concern. "Yuriko was out tonight and the guy got the drop on her - she's dead. I don't even know who else went out wth her, but they didn't come back. Saki sent Leo out to finish the job."

"He sent Leo?" Raph wasn't happy at the news for a number of reasons - he felt worried, sure, but Leo could handle himself. There was a flare of jealousy that Sensei had picked his brother for the job instead of him. But mostly he was confused. A death in the Clan was enough to get Mikey depressed, especially when it had been one of his friends, but why a screw-up by them had Mikey blaming Sensei didn't make sense. Mikey was a peacemaker, more likely to try to see Master Saki's side than condemn him for things. Even the day he got hurt, he refused to blame Sensei. Hostile Mikey was something new and unwelcome.

"Yeah, he sent Leo." Mikey stared into the mid-distance and paused for a moment. "Yuri wasn't dead when she got back here. Saki killed her. Because she screwed up."

Raph winced and rested a placating hand on his brothers shell. "She might have been dying anyway. . ."

"She was. I was there, me and Donnie, trying to save her. I mean, we knew there was no chance in hell, but we had to try. But Saki said she dishonoured the Clan."

A lesson from Sensei. Raph narrowed his eyes. No wonder Mike was so upset, he had always hated this kind of thing. It wasn't the first time that one of the Foot had been punished too harshly for a transgression as a lesson to the rest of them, but Raph never got used to it. He respected his Sensei, but every time something like this happened he could feel something inside him rebel. He didn't want to live in fear, didn't want any of them to have to have the constant knowledge that getting away with their lives might not be enough if their Sensei was displeased. But he knew better than to question Saki's motives.

It was times like this when he wondered if he should just blow town one night, how far he could get before the Foot stopped following. And if any of his brothers would be willing to come with him, if even asking them could mean an immediate report to Master Saki about his plans.

"That's not all. . ." Mikey hesitated, as if unsure of whether to go on. Raph tried to beat down his anger, but it was hard and getting harder every time he thought of the poor kid who died that night.

"What else?" Raph sat on the other end of the bed and forcibly restrained himself from pulling out his sun and moon daggers. Having them in his hands always seemed to focus him on the matters at hand. But that was only likely to get Mikey more worried and he might clam up altogether, wanting to keep the fragile peace that existed for them in the Clan. Damn, he hated having to show restraint. "What is it?"

Michelangelo rubbed the cheek where his scars ended and briefly wondered if he was making a mistake. But he had to tell someone what had happened in solitary, or he was going to lose his mind thinking about it. And he didn't have enough to lose any more. The weak joke couldn't make him smile.

"Mikey?"

With a sigh, Mikey stopped debating and told his brother everything.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"We need Donnie's help," insisted Raph stubbornly. He had relaxed slightly when he heard Mikey's story. Some guy in high security knew their names and had decided to screw with him. It explained why Mikey was so agitated about recent events though; he would fall for anything and if it had been playing on his mind no wonder Yuriko's death and Saki's actions had hit him so hard.

Still, though he didn't want to admit it, something about Mikey's story had got him curious. Some guy they had no idea about down there who claimed to know something about their past. He had to speak to this person at least once, find out if he was just messing with Mikey's head or if he really did know anything about them. And he wouldn't put it past Master Saki to edit the truth about how they were really found - assuming they really were found and not just part of one of the odd experimens that their Sensei sanctioned on occasion. Raph had suspected as much from time to time but had rejected the idea - the four of them were too normal. Sensei would almost certainly have wanted them stronger or more agile or somthing, not just humanoid turtles.

But to get into the high security area without a reason, they would need help. They might be ninja but there were cameras all over that part of the buildnig and no places to hide easily. Mikey had managed it the one time through chance but Raph knew enough about the turtle luck not to rely on it happening again. They needed someone to come up with a way they could get to that corridor and the brother who always seemed to come up with something was Donnie. And Raph didn't think Leo would appove of sneaking around without Sensei's knowledge. Best if they didn't let him know what they were planning.

But Mikey was reluctant to entrust another brother with his secret, pointing out how distant Donnie had been of late and how he would probably scoff at the idea of a prisoner knowing anything about their past. Raph had his work cut out trying to talk him into going along with it, even when he conceded that it was the only way they would get near the prisoner undetected.

"He won't help us," said Mikey stubbornly when all his other arguments had run out.

"Don't know 'til we ask him," replied Raph, realising he was on the verge of winning. Mikey was close to just giving up and letting Raph take over.

"He might go and ask Master Saki. Then I'm in trouble."

"You know he won't, he wouldn't want you to catch any flack. Come on Mikey, we'll never find out if we don't get Don to help."

"Don't know why you care," muttered Mikey. "You think he's conning me."

"I want to know for sure. And so do you. Come on!" Raph went to the door and gave Mikey an expectant look. Mikey mentally threw in the towel, sighed and followed him off to Donnie's room.

On reflection, thought Raph, it had probably been the best time to tell Donnie about what Mikey saw in high security. Of the four brothers Donnie was the one who hated unnecessary violence the most, believing in fighting as a last resort and deliberate killing as reprehensible. He would never question his Sensei's motives out loud, but Raph thought that Donnie had cut himself off to justify Master Saki's actions in a way he could live with in solitude. If Donnie didn't like what Sensei had done it might just put him in the mood for a little rebellion.

"Donnie! Hey, Donnie!" Raph hammered on the door. "Open up!"

Just when he thought he was being ignored, Donnie opened the door and peered out. "What is it? I'm busy here!"

"You're gonna wanna hear this." Raph pushed his way past Don, followed by a reluctant Mikey.

Donnie listened to Mikey's words with growing incredulity. "Wait. You're telling me that some guy told you a story and you swallowed it? Mikey, we know the Foot killed everyone in the lab we were rescued from. And even if someone did survive, why would Master Saki keep him alive all these years? He's just messing with your head."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me." Mikey crossed his arms and glared. "But you weren't there, you didn't hear him."

"There's one way we can find out for sure," said Raph, spinning a dagger around a finger. "But we need you to do something creative to the cameras."

Donnie shook his head. "I can't just disable them, there's always someone in control and they'd notice that for sure."

"So there's nothing you can do?"

"I didn't say that." Donnie went over to his computer and began typing rapidly. "I've done this before a few times. I can adjust the cameras so that they show the footage from this time yesterday instead of today - there! See, it looks the same because no one ever goes there unless they need to but it's not what the cameras are seeing now, so we should - "

"Donnie, whatever!" Raph put the dagger away and made for the door, too impatient to wait any longer. "You two coming or what?"

"Well, I would like to know more about Mikey's prisoner," replied Donnie. "But we have to be careful that no one realises we've vanished from the cameras. And I daren't leave the loop on too long in case it's noticed."

"Sitck to the shadows, away from the cameras. Don't stay all night. Gotcha."

Mikey followed the pair, one thing bugging him. "So Donnie - why have you been messing with the cameras anyway? What do you do that you don't want Sensei knowing about, huh?"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Leonardo watched the target as he threw cases into the back of an SUV. He had to go back into his house and make several trips becausse only one hand was being used for the cases, the other carrying a gun. Leo didn't know much about guns, disliking the weapon because it lacked the finesse of a true warriors tool, but he thought it was a mach 10, a semi-automatic. it would explain how the guy could take out two kunoichi before they could land a blow on him.

The background on the target was breif but adequate. He was a politician, single, no kids, no girlfriends. Several weeks ago he had been part of a vote that was related to prevention and punishment of gang activity in New York. Master Saki had wanted the vote to go in their favour and the target had no simple weaknesses. For others they convinced to see things their way it was easy; a few photos of the wife or kids and the realisation that they could have been shot with something other than a camera. Or other kinds of photos, the kind that no one with a career in the public eye would want to see in the tabloids. Fear was a powerful tool. So was greed, but it hadn't worked so well with this target, who had taken the bribe offered by the Foot and not done as they asked. Master Saki had ordered the target terminated, but what should have been a simple matter had gone to hell.

Silently, blending int othe shadows in the well-manicured driveway, Leo crept forward. The target had no idea he was there, but he was obviously on edge, expecting something, throwing looks around as if he was about to catch someone sneaking up on him. The gun was clutched tightly in his grasp and Leo half-expected to see the guy shoot himself in the leg. The house was far away from its neighbours and the nearest lit window was far up the street but Leo took no chances, not with somehting like this. This was important, a matter of personal pride and his clans honour.

The guy returned to the car with another case, threw it in and slammed the door. Just what Leo had been waiting for. Stealthily he made his way forward and was behind the target as he inserted the keys into the drivers side door.

"Boo."

The target gave a strangled yell and half-turned, raising the gun far too slowly to save himself. With a graceful motion, Leo pulled a double-bladed sword from its scabbard and swung at the guys neck, almost severing it with the force of the blow, neatly sidestepping the spray of blood from the severed artery. He was back in the shodows before the body hit the ground.

There was very little satisfaction in completing a job like this one. He was proud that it had gone off without a hitch and that he hadn't let down his Sensei by letting the guy slip away before retribution could be gained. And it was payback for the kunoichi of course. But Leo didn't enjoy the act of assassination itself. Felling opponants in battle carried more honour than waiting in the shadows for a guy whos idea of training was a half hour on the treadmill and some heavy duty time under the sunbed, even if he was armed and had killed. But assassination was a part of a ninjas life. This wasn't Feudal Japan, it was New York City and some of their work had to be more hidden than other parts.

The first thing he had to do was give a full report of the evenings events to his Sensei. After that, he would see if his brothers were still awake - there was no reason they shouldn't be, all of them preferred the night hours. After something like this he wanted to get back to normal, reassure himself that everything was right in his life. And if Mikey and Donnie had been unsuccessful trying to save Yuriko, as Sensei had told him, they might need some cheering up. Someone had once told him that the four of them needed to be there for each other always - who had that been? Probably Master Saki. It didn't matter anyway, Leo had always tried to look out for his brothers in his own way and he wanted to make sure they weren't too depressed. Raph might be out with the Dragons though.

If there was one decision of Master Saki's that Leo disapproved of, it was allowing Raph to run around with the Dragons. Raph needed to blow off steam from time to time but the Dragons were nothing but street thugs, useful to the Foot after a fashion but not indespensible. He thought Raph would be better served remaining in the skyscraper and training rather than hanging about with Hun. It was his opinion that if the four of them were to spend more time training together they could be a team as good as the Elite Guard and that would be an honour. But they had grown too far apart in recent years. Maybe it was time he pitched the idea to them, talk them into it.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Down here, right at the end." Mikey's voice was subdued.

"Jeez, are they saving on electric or something?" Raph muttered as he observed the dimmed lights.

"I suspect it's to inspire an oppressive atmosphere," said Donnie quietly. "It makes any of the Foot more wary and the prisoner less able to see what's going on."

Mikey walked up to the door and opened the hatch, hiding his trepidation behind casual cheer. "Hey dude! Remember me?"

Raph winced. "Nice one Mikey."

There was no noise from within the cell. One moment the hatch showed nothing but darkness, the next the three could see a pair of eyes, the whites eerily bright against the dim lighting.

"Michelangelo. You have returned, as I hoped you would - and brought your brothers."

"We were so quiet," murmered Donnie. "This guy must have some great hearing."

The gaze shifted from Mikey. "Donatello."

"Uh, yeah?"

"Always wanting to know more about the world. That is why you came here, yes?"

"We came down here for answers," said Raph belligerantly. Mikey had been right. There was something about the guy that made him want to know what he had to say. How could he know which was Donnie anyway? Mikey was easy enough to tell apart from them with the scars he bore, but there was nothing to differentiate the other two save their skin tones and it was surely too dark in the corridor to easily do that.

"Ah, Raphael. Always impatient." This followed by a rusty chuckle.

"And getting _more_ impatient. How do you know who we are?"

"As I told Michelangelo, we have met, many years ago."

"So you were one of the guys in the lab?" Donnie got closer to the door, curiousity making him forget caution. "What were you experimenting on? And why?"

There was a sigh. "Donatello, the things you seem to have been told about your past are not true. There was no lab, no experiments."

Raph snarled. "So what are you telling us? And why should we believe you?"

The eyes within the hatch moved over the three of them and Donnie began to feel uncomfortable. There was something wrong. The guys face was too dark, no indication of skin tone at all.

"Your brother." The voice sharpened, sounding concerned. "Where is Leonardo?"

"He, uh, couldn't make it," said Mikey.

"You didn't tell him you were coming here." Was there disappointment in the voice? "You are brothers. You share a bond. You should be able to trust each other."

"He's not home." Raph kept his voice deliberately harsh. "Again, why should we listen to anythin gyou have to say?"

"I cannot prove my story. I can only ask you to listen to it and judge for yourself."

"We're listening," said Mikey, giving his brothers warning looks. He wanted to hear what the guy had to say even if the others thought it was bull.

There was silence from behind the door for a few moments before the voice began again. "I am Splinter."

Raph hoped his shock didn't show on his face. "_Splinter_?"

Another chuckle. "Maybe you do remember me after all Raphael."

Noticing the looks his brothers were giving him, Raph glared moodily at the floor. "Name just sounds familiar is all."

"Many years ago, I was a pet of my Master Yoshi. . ."

"Whoa, wait a moment. Pet?" Mikey again tried to get a better look at the prisoner. "You're a turtle? Like us?"

"No. I was his pet rat."

The three turtles tried to move away from the door without making it obvious. Donnie frowned thoughtfully. "You were mutated at the same time as us?"

"Please Donatello. Let me tell the story in my own way." There was a moments silence before the prisoner - Splinter - continued.

"My master was a great ninja, one of the greatest practiotioners of ninjitsu in many centuries. I learned ninjitsu from mimicking his moves. For many years I was happy. we were - a family. but that life ended when the Shredder sent his Foot ninja to attack my Master."

Donnie frowned. They all knew about Sensei's alter-ego but for some reason this other name - Yoshi - was familiar too. He just couldn't work out where he had heard it before.

"My master battled honourably, but through their dishonourable ways the Foot ninja overpowered him."

"Hey, we're Foot ninja too! You sayin we got no honour?"

"Raph!" Mikey glared at his brother. "Let him talk! You promised to listen!"

"Fine." Raph folded his arms and leant against a wall. "But if he says we got no honour again, I'm outta here."

Splinter waited a moment to see if there would be any further interruptions. There weren't. But Raphael was wrong if he thought the Foot had honour.

"Then the Shredder entered."

Splinter's voice shook with emotion as he recounted what had happened next. "They accused my Master of working for their enemies. They wanted information. They were relentless! But my Master said only one thing - 'He who lives without honour, will end without honour.' So the Shredder gave the order to finish him."

"I tried to save my Master, but my efforts were in vain - although I did leave my mark on his henchman. Then the Shredder struck, taking my Master Yoshi from me - from the world."

"What does that have to do with us?" asked Mikey.

"Apart from us being Foot ninja," added Raph, still offended by the crack abou their honour.

"For the first time I found myself alone, on the streets, wandering the sewers, scavanging for whatever I could find. I remember a day that started like any other but ended changing the course of many lives. I witnessed an accident; a young boy carried a glass jar with four pet infant turtles. An old blind man was crossing the street when he was almost run down by a large truck. A teenager ran to his aid, knocking the jar from the boys hands. The turtles were swept away into the sewer, in spite of the boys attempts to save them. As the truck swerved, a metal cannister bounced out of the back. It too was swept into the sewer and smashed open, revealing a glowing ooze which covered their bodies. I took pity, gathering them up in a coffee can. I took them to my burrow. The next morning I awoke to find the four had doubled in size! The ooze had affected their growth. It had changed me too, making me larger and more intelligent. They followed me everywhere, except above ground. I knew the people of the surface would not accept them. We are so . . . different."

"You're talking about us?" Mikey was enthralled in the tale.

"Yes. You and your brothers lived with me in the sewers. I was amazed by your dexterity, but even so, I was not prepared for what happened one day. Donatello spoke - my name! Soon you were all speaking. Intelligence followed soon after. Knowing the outside world can sometimes be a dangerous place, I scavanged at night for food while you slept and ensured that none of you ever went to the surface. But I was not careful enough and our lair was discovered. By the Shredder."

"So you're saying that Master Saki kidnapped the four of us and kept you locked up down here while he decided to raise us as his own?" Raph snorted in contempt. "That's some fairy story. Probably you cooked it up as some kinda half-assed revenge for your Master. Well, we're not buying. You're no mutant, you're just some guy who's gone crazy being down here too long."

"Raphael, so sceptical." Splinter's eyes were obscured temporarily as he raised a hand and offered it through the hatch. The three turtles gasped. The hand had nails too long and thick for any human and was covered in gnarled brown fur.

"He really is a rat!" exclaimed Mikey. "He's telling the truth!"

"Him being a mutant doesn't mean he's telling the truth," said Raph, but the words sounded hollow to his own ears. "He could have other reasons to turn us against Sensei."

"I have only one reason to instill distrust of the Shredder in you," replied Splinter, withdrawing his hands and once more resting his eyes on the three confused turtles. "My sons - it is time you knew who Oruku Saki really is. He is an evil man. Any endeavour he undertakes, he does for his own selfish gain. And that includes raising the four of you."


	6. Trust I Seek

**Author Note: **My apologies for the lateness of this chapter. I've had a lot of work on, not to mention that I was immersed in doing several diplomas for the Stealthy Stories site. And I got bit by the one-shot bunny too! But hopefully back on track now. Still don't have Word, so although I've gone over the chapter and tried to eliminate any mistakes, I can't guarantee I got them all. In other words, I might need forgiveness. Leave a review on ya way out, let me know what you think!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Leonardo left his meeting with Master Saki and headed to Donnie's room, figuring he was most likely to be hanging around there. But there was no sign of his brother. The room was empty, the computer still turned on, showing the meteor shower screensaver. With a sigh, he went to Raph's room and found no one there either, although he did notice the punch bag was leaking stuffing. Again. Mikey's room was similarly empty and Leo nearly had an unfortunate accident involving a carelessly discarded skateboard. He made a quick search of all the other places where they might be hanging out and found nothing. There was no sign of any of them.

Frowning, Leo considered where his brothers might go. Master Saki hadn't metioned them leaving but they didn't always get his permission when they went for a midnight training run, knowing he wouldn't disapprove. And there was one place they nearly always stopped for a break, a rooftop sporting a giant billboard. If he went there, maybe he would get lucky and find them. He wasn't sure why it had suddenly become such a priority to repair their relationship, but Karai leaving had alerted him to just how far apart they had become. It was time they did something about it.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

On the rooftop beneath the billboard, Mikey sat with his shell against the low wall. Donnie was stood, a thoughtful look on his face. And Raph was pacing, spinning a dagger around his finger.

"He's shittin us," said Raph for the fourth time.

"I dunno Raph," replied Mikey. "He seemed pretty sincere."

"He wants us to bust him out! Of course he's gonna wanna sound sincere."

"But he knew who we were - _you_ knew his name!"

"It just sounded familiar is all, it doesn't mean he's tellin us the truth."

"He's a mutant, like us. You saw his hand."

"Maybe he's just real hairy."

"Guys!" Donnie raised a hand to stop the bickering. "Why don't we try thinking this through logically?"

Raph gave him a look of disbelief. "You're not buying that story are you?"

"I don't know! But some of the things he said make sense. And another thing, why would he want us to get Leo involved? That'd be a bad move if he wants us to help him and if he found out about us from of the Foot he'd know it. He just seemed sad that we didn't tell him."

"Speaking of Leo," said Mikey hesitantly. "What _are_ we gonna tell him?"

"Nothin," replied Raph, his voice firm. "I don't need another one of Fearless Leader's lectures and if he finds out we were talkin to someone in high security we wouldn't hear the end of it."

"But Splinter said. . . "

"Splinter said! Splinter said! Who _cares_ what Splinter said? We can't know for sure if the guy's on the level or not. I think he's making the whole thing up."

Donnie rubbed his forehead wearily. "Did you ever ask Hun what happened to his face?"

"Huh? What's that got to do with anything?"

"I asked Master Saki once, when I was a kid. He said Hun was attacked by a rat."

Silence reigned on the rooftop for a moment. Then Raph sighed and sat down beside Mikey. "OK. So if this Splinter really is telling the truth, what are we going to do about it?"

"I'm gonna do some digging on the computer, see if I can find anything out about him," said Donnie.

"Don, be careful when you do that!" Mikey looked alarmed. "Splinter was telling the truth about one thing for sure - Master Saki is a bad man. If he finds out we've been looking for answers. . .

"He won't," said Donnie reassuringly. "I've done enough sneaking around these last few weeks to have become an expert!"

His brothers gave him curious looks. "What are you talking about?" asked Mikey.

"I'll tell you about it later," said Donnie. "We should think about getting back. Leo's probably back at headquarters by now and if we don't want him to know, we ought not to make him suspicious."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to get busted by Saki Junior," muttered Raph, standing up. "Race ya back?"

"You're on!" Mikey leapt to his feet and got a headstart, his brothers following closely behind. Soon they were far away from the building that was their unofficial hangout.

None of them had seen the figure lurking atop the billboard.

Leonardo's plan had been to sneak up on them, then jump into their midst and hopefully give them a fright. But he had paused for a moment when he saw how agitated they all were and blended into the shadows when he heard his name spoken, although he needn't have bothered because none of them looked up.

"Speaking of Leo, what _are_ we gonna tell him?"

He listened to the rest of the conversation, every word weighing on his heart like stones. His brothers didn't trust him. They were facing something major by the sound of things and rather than turn to him, they had cut him out. They were keeping secrets from him, hiding their problems. They had grown further away from him than he had realised.

The lack of trust hurt. Sure, he argued with Raph and he could get exasperated with Mikey and half the time he had no idea what was going on in Donnie's head, but he'd never given them a reason to distrust him. Did they honestly think he would side with Master Saki against them?

He made his way back to headquarters slowly, mulling over what they had said. It took an effort to bury his hurt feelings and try to piece together what they were so worried about. Some guy called Splinter. This Splinter was apparently in high security and had told them something bad about Master Saki. Then there was Donnie's puzzling comment about Hun and a rat. It seemed totally out of context.

Maybe if he were to solve his brothers' problems, he could win back their trust. They would have faith in him again and maybe he could get rid of the sorrowful feeling that had overtaken him when he realised they were in trouble and didn't think they could turn to him for help.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The Foot ninja who was supposed to be watching the cameras was actually dozing in his chair. Leo wanted to make sure he stayed that way. He stepped forward silently, a dart gripped between his fingers and gave the ninja the faintest scratch on the back of the neck. A fast acting, short term sleeping serum that should keep the guy out for an hour or so and not arouse any suspicion that it was anything more than a long nap. He didn't have much time.

It was 3:20 am. There was no one else around. He hurried down into solitary, avoiding where the kunoichi were still awake and mourning the loss of Yuriko, finding solitary and entering. The cameras there were motion sensitive and he knew he couldn't avoid them, but he was pretty sure no one would realise he had been there. It was a chance he would have to take.

Solitary led off into high security and sticking to the shadows as much as possible, easier in the dimly lit corridor, he checked out the cells in the area. Most of them were deserted, but he could see one at the far end of the corridor that was closed. He checked it out. Locked.

Quietly, he opened the hatch and tried to peer into the dark room. It was no use. The darkness was almost total and he couldn't even see the outline of a person. . .

A pair of eyes appeared at the hatch.

Startled, Leo took a couple of hurried steps backward before regaining his composure and folded his arms in what he hoped was a stern and intimidating fashion.

"I want to ask you some questions."

There was a rusty chuckle from behind the door. "Ah, Leonardo. Always straight to the point. But it is good to see you again. Did your brothers tell you about me?"

"How I found out about you isn't important - Splinter, isn't it? I just came for answers."

"Your brothers haven't spoken to you?" The eyes bein the hatch bore into Leo. "It saddens me to see the four of you estranged. You are family. You should always be able to rely on each other."

Leo was unnerved that the prisoner was articulating his own thoughts so closely but tried not to show it. "I just want to know what you said to them. I don't want your advice."

"Still looking out for the family. You were always protective of them."

"How do you know anything about me? Wait, I don't care how you know. Just tell me what you said to them."

Splinter sighed. "Very well. But if you are to help your brothers, it is not me you need to be speaking to, but them."

"I don't want your advice. Just tell me."

With a frown that was almost imperceptable in the gloom, Splinter began his tale.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The sparring session was not going well. None of the turtles had gotten much sleep the night before and they were making foolish mistakes, going slower than usual. Knowing their Sensei would be angry, they overcompensated by hitting each other harder, using flashier moves. It wasn't helping. All four were very glad that there was no weapons practice that day.

Master Saki clapped sharply and the four lined up in front of him. The look on his face was dark.

"That was pathetic. I have never been more ashamed of my students. Abysmal."

Leo bowed. He had never paid much thought to the way their Sensei spoke to them before, he rarely messed up his training and when things went well, they recieved praise. But on the rare occasions when things went badly, he would berate them mercilessly, making them feel small and worthless. He had always put it down to motivation before speaking to the prisoner, but what Splinter had said was making him question his Sensei.

He hated the feeling, hated the distrust that he had. He tried to tell himself that Splinter was lying, but the story was so damn plausible. . . no wonder his brothers were suspicious. He was beginning to wonder if Master Saki had told them the whole truth - or if he really was the manipulative, evil figure that Splinter made him out to be.

"We're sorry Sensei. We'll do better."

"Hmph." Saki regarded them all coldly. "I had planned on asking you all to go on a priority mission but after seeing this _farce_ I wonder if my faith in your ablilities is misplaced."

The silence drew out as the four turtles wondered what the mission could be. It would be the first time they went out alone on a mission, assuming that Master Saki didn't decide to change his mind about sending them.

"I shall send you," decided Saki eventually. "But fail me and you _will_ regret it."

"We won't fail you Sensei," replied Leo, knowing that until he discovered the truth he had to continue being the dutiful son. He knew that Raph would tease him mercilessly for his 'sucking up' just as soon as they left the dojo, but at that point he didn't care. He hadn't had much of a chance to talk to his brothers after what he had overheard the previous night and he wanted to see how they behaved toward him. Would they be resentful? Hostile? Or had they been that way all along and he just hadn't noticed?

Master Saki folded his arms. "There is a museum exhibit, a sword. The Sword of Tengu. It was in my. . . family for many generations but was stolen. It belongs to me. I want it back. Tonight, you are to go to the museum and retrieve it. I shall instruct you further before you leave. I hardly need to tell you that this is of the utmost importance. Now go."

The turtles bowed and filed out of the dojo. Leo braced himself for the taunts that Raph would surely unleash as soon as they were out of Master Saki's earshot, Donnie and Mikey rolling their eyes in the background.

"I'm gonna head to my room, beat the crap out of the punchbag for a while," said Raph, leaving the others behind with a slight wave.

"I think I'll get an early start at Stocktronics," Donnie informed them, heading in the opposite direction.

Mikey looked at the floor for a moment, then glanced up and gave Leo a smile filled with false cheer. "See ya later!" He wandered off in the direction of the kunoichi's area.

Leo felt a sudden, uncharacteristic urge to punch a wall. They didn't even want to be around him! Had things really gotten _that_ bad? They didn't talk to him, didn't trust him, didn't even want to spend a few minutes alone with him. . . what had he done wrong?

Deciding that Raph had the right idea, he decided to spend some quality time training in the dojo where the other Foot ninja trained rather than their Sensei's sanctuary. Punching and kicking helped him to work off some of the anger he felt for his brothers at that moment but it wasn't focusing his tired mind the way it usually did.

The immediate problem was Splinter's story. How much of it did he believe? He was willing to believe that he was a mutant rat and that he had been a pet of Hamato Yoshi - but that Master Saki had tortured and killed the man? He wasn't sure. He wasn't a fool, he knew his Sensei was capable of such a thing, but he really didn't _want_ to believe it. All his life he had been content with Master Saki's explaination of their origins, having no reason to doubt or question. But now - now he just didn't know.

There was another explaination though, Leo realised as he gave the punchbag a particularly vicious kick. The rat might have been in the lab with them, another of the experiments that Master Saki said the turtles were a part of. If the rat was delusional or dangerous, then it made sense that Sensei would lock him away, where he couldn't cause trouble, but would still be available should there be any question - or if Sensei decided to use his DNA for research. And why would he tell the turtles about the prisoner? All it would achieve would be to upset them. The way his brothers were upset.

The idea made Leo feel better for about ten seconds before he realised the problem with the theory. He had spoken to the rat, listened to him. There was something about him that convinced Leo he was neither insane nor lying, a gut instinct. But then, Leo knew he had trouble picking up on lies. He was too trusting Master Saki said. So if this Splinter had been lying or delusional, he might not realise it.

Maybe he should confront his brothers with what he knew, force them to confide in him. But that wouldn't work. They would probably accuse him of spying on them, drive the wedge between them further. Or perhaps he could tell them he had discovered Splinter's existence by chance, not mention that he was aware they knew of it already. That would make him seem trustworthy, shame them into giving their side of the story. . .but that would seem too convenient, his discovery so soon after their own.

He wished he could talk to Karai about this.

Worn out, he left the dojo and headed to the sanctuary of his own room, determined to grab a few hours sleep. He would need it to be on top form for that evenings work. His brothers' safety depended upon him being focused, alert. He was the leader after all. Although how much of a leader he was when the others refused to trust him was debatable.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The city was in darkness as far as the four turtles could see. A convenient power cut allowed them to make their way to the museum undetected, climb to the rooftop and make their way in through the skylight. The lack of power rendered the security measures obsolete, much to Donnie's unspoken disappointment, allowing them easy access into the building. The Sword of Tengu was in a glass case, the plaque beside it displaying some scarce details about Feudal Japan. Leo took the glass cutter they had brought along and made a hole in the case large enough for the sword to be removed through, putting on the glove that Master Saki informed them was a necessity when dealing with the metal it was made from, an alloy that caused anyone attempting to weild it without protection to get a powerful shock. Ideally, Leo would prefer not to end up on his shell.

"Got it."

"So let's book already," hissed Raph with uncharacteristic impatience.

Nodding, Leo sheathed the sword with his own, stowed the glove and followed his brothers back up to the skylight. The mission had been _easy_. Why had Master Saki made it sound nigh on impossible? To bolster their confidence perhaps, or maybe to ensure they knew how important the Sword of Tengu was to him. Important or not, the whole thing had gone without a hitch. They hadn't seen a sign of any security guards, had been totally undisturbed throughout.

The museum was far enough from the next building that they had descend to street level to leave the area. Mikey went down first, followed by Donnie, Leo and Raph. For a moment they stayed in the shadows, assessing the streets, making sure the streets were as deserted as they had been when they checked from the roof. . .

"Doin' a little late night shopping?"

The four whirled around to the source of the voice. The guy was leant in a doorway, the lack of light the only thing masking his presence - he sure as hell didn't have the light-footedness they associated with ninja. If they'd looked into the doorway a little closer they might have seen him, or maybe not. There was no light whatsoever. They could barely make him out now, even knowing that he was there.

He stood up straight, advancing forward. Out of the shadows and in the dim moonlight, they could see he was much taller than them, heavily muscled, a hockey mask obscuring his features.

Raph recognised him, not by sight but by the descriptions he had been given. "It's him - the vigilante that's been taking down the Dragons."

The vigilante grabbed a baseball bat from the golf bag on his back and spun it menacingly. "If you're with the Dragons, that means _you're_ going down!"

"We can't afford to screw upthis mission," said Leo, sounding more determined than he felt. This was hardly the situation to be in when he doubted his ability to lead, was unsure that his brothers would follow his orders. "Take him down!"

As one, the turtles attacked.


	7. Swordplay

**Author Note: **This chapter is the calm (such as it is) before the storm. I'm sorry it took me so long to put up! I kinda lost my way with it for a while. But now I know what I'm up to again. I hope to have the next chapter up before the new year. I got kinda distracted by my new fic, 'In Too Deep', which is the sequel to 'It Had To Be Blue'.

I'd like to thank whomever nominated for 'Choosing Destiny' for a fanfic award! I didn't expect that at all and I'm really proud and pleased - I phoned everyone I knew about it! Also, thanks to those who nominated for 'Blue' and 'Deep' for awards, as well as my one-shot 'Alone'. Four awards! Four! Can you tell I'm chuffed to bits? You guys rock and I hope you all get lots of excellent xmas pressies this year. Oh, and because it's unlikely I'll get round to posting before the day - HAPPY CHRISTMAS! May all your pressie dreams come true.

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There was nothing Casey Jones enjoyed more than fighting bad guys, keeping the streets safe from the scum who preyed on weaker people. He was only one man and knew he couldn't take down every gang member in New York, but maybe knowing that there was someone out there unafraid of taking them on would make a few of them thing twice. And it wasn't _every _gang in New York he was interested in. The most powerful were the Purple Dragons and Casey had a personal reason to see every last one of them taken down.

So when one of the short guys mentioned the Dragons, he grinned beneath the hockey mask. He knew the blackout would be too good for most criminals to resist and seeing their silhouettes on the roof of the museum, he had thought they were just oppertunists. A museum wasn't a typical Dragon target. But maybe they were branching out. There was a lot of money in antiques.

It wasn't until the four attacked that he realised there was something unusual about these Dragons. They didn't fight in the street style that the other gang members did, leaping at him rather than rushing at him with weapons, using kicks and punches like something off a Bruce Lee movie or something. He barely ducked aside in time to avoid a kick and blocked a punch with his baseball bat, swinging it at his attacker, who flipped out of the way. A glint of silver caught his eye and he raised the bat again. A chain whipped around it and for a second Casey thought he was on more familiar territory, until he realised that this was no ordinary chain; there was a spiked ball at the end of it. A brief tug-of-war between bat and chain ensued until Casey was jerked forward. And found himself face to face with a creature from a nightmare.

The blackout meant that the only light available was from the moon, but his eyes had adjusted enough that he was able to make out the guys face, which seemed almost green tinted - make-up or something? A couple of nasty scars ran from eye to chin and his mouth was far too wide, the grimace caused by the healed scars displaying oversized teeth. As the guy yanked the bat from his suddenly loose grip, he saw that the guy had some kind of armour plating on his chest and was carrying something large and round on his back.

What the hell had he got himself into here?

"No weapons," said one of the other fighters sharply. "No unnecessary attention."

"Spoilsport," muttered a third, leaping at Casey, who dived to one side and snatched at his golf bag, grabbing a hockey stick from his arsenal. As another figure approached him, he swept it low and took the guys feet from beneath him, before scrambling up and assessing the situation. The four of him could take him down, weapons or no, but there was no way he was going to run from a group of thieving Dragons.

He raised the hockey stick and charged. He narrowly missed hitting one of them in the head - he thought it was Scars - and let the momentum carry him in a circle, catching another one in the solar plexus. The shock that travelled up the stick startled him. Usually, connecting with flesh wouldn't cause that kind of reaction. Maybe they were all wearing the same armour plating.

Protected or not, the figure doubled over momentarily and Casey used the distraction to hit him in the back of the knees with the hockey stick, taking him down however briefly. But then Scars was back, punching him in the gut and knocking the wind out of him. He stumbled backward until he hit a wall.

The pair he had knocked over were already back on their feet, joining the other two in a group before him. Struggling to recover, he took several deep breaths.

"Come on guys," said one of them - the leader by the way he sounded like he was used to being obeyed. "We need to get back to headquarters as soon as possible."

Casey felt anger rising as they turned to leave. Did they think they could just walk away from him? He reached into his golf bag and found a cricket bat, running after them, determined that these creeps were going down _tonight_.

Hearing him, the leader turned and grabbed something from his waist before reaching to the weapon on his back, swords by the look, three of them. He pulled the centre one from its sheath and held it out in a defensive stance. . .

And Casey saw a flash of radiance that blinded him before feeling some kind of blast that knocked him off his feet, flying back against the wall and landing in an untidy heap on the floor, totally stunned. He could no more have got back to his feet than he could have grown wings and flown after them. The light died down and just before the blackout made him sightless again, he could see through the dancing spots before his eyes that the four figures were gaping in shock at the weapon in the leaders hand.

The sudden light had robbed Casey of his night vision and he blinked a few times, trying to clear his head without actually moving it. He had smacked himself a good one when he hit the wall. But he could hear the hushed tones of the four, still there.

"What the _shell_ was that?"

"I - I don't know! I just thought it might cut the bat in half or something and it just blasted - I didn't _do_ anything!"

"Is it magic or something?"

"Magic? Hardly. Probably just a random oscillating sonic vibration frequency."

"Well that clears up everything."

"Guys." The leader seemed to have regained his composure somewhat. "Let's get this sword back to Master Saki, before _he_ wakes up and decides he wants to fight some more."

"I _like_ fighting."

"Let's just go."

"Do you thing Sensei will let me have a closer look at . . ."

The voices died away but Casey stayed put, trying to regain his senses. That had _not_ been the typical Purple Dragon encounter. Usually they attacked with street weapons and he could beat them easily. Those four had been different and not just the way they looked - and what had been up with those disguises anyway? They were hardly inconspicuous. And that weapon that looked like a sword had been freaky. Come to think of it, they had seemed just as surprised when it had fired as he had been.

Finally, Casey made it to his feet, retrieved the weapons that he had dropped and decided to call it a night. He'd had enough of fighting for now. As he made his way home, he considered what he had overheard the little weirdo's saying. Master Saki? Wasn't Hun in charge of the Dragons? Perhaps it was some other gang after all, in spite of them knowing about the Dragons vigilante troubles.

Whatever. The next time he saw them, Casey was going to get some payback.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Much later, Leo had been left to explain to Saki what had gone on when they had gone to retrieve the Sword of Tengu while the others returned to their rooms. Or rather, they all returned to Donnie's room, where they discussed what had been going on.

"No wonder he wanted that sword," muttered Mikey. "We could have killed that guy!"

"But we didn't," muttered Raph, mildly annoyed. He had been threatening to take down the vigilante as soon as he saw him and he hadn't done, thanks to Leo's 'no weapons' order. What had that been all about? If any of the Dragons found out about this, he'd be a laughing stock.

"But now it's in Master Saki's hands - aren't you worried about what he's planning to do with it?"

"I wanna know how he knew about the Sword in the first place," replied Raph. "If anyone found out about it, they'd have kept it for experiments, not put it in a museum. If it's some kinda heirloom, how could some guy a billion years ago have the know-how to make something like that?"

"Do you know anything about this Donnie?" asked Mikey, stretching himself out on the chair he was sat in. "I mean, unexplained stuff is your area."

"Speaking of unexplained stuff," added Raph, raising an eye ridge as he looked at Don. "You said something the other night, about sneaking about behind Saki's back. Mikey and me trusted you with what we knew about Splinter. So, what is it you've been doing?"

Donnie looked embarrassed, pulling out his _nagitana _and swinging it around, a sure sign that he was agitated. "Um. . . I don't really know how to descibe what happened. . ."

"Start from the beginning and go from there," suggested Raph.

"Um. . ." Donnie sat, the _nagitana _still in his hand. "The thing is, it wasn't planned, it just kinda happened."

"What 'just kinda happened', huh?" asked Raph.

"I was working late one night at Stocktronics. . . " began Donnie and told them everything about April, the mousers and Stockman, including how hard he had tried to detract attention from the redhead when she had refused to leave.

When he finished, Raph and Mikey were dumbstruck. They had never expected something so sneaky from their quiet brother. Donnnie sniggered, not knowing what to expect, turning back to his computer and typing in a search.

"Donatello! You sly turtle!" said Mikey eventually. "But what happened to what's-her-name, April?"

"As far as I know, she's still above the antiques store," replied Donnie, still messing with his computer. "I just have to hope that Stockman doesn't notice someone's been playing with his computer."

"You know, if Saki finds out about this, you're in big trouble," said Raph, frowning. "And if this lab assistant goes shooting her mouth off, he might take a closer look at what we've been doing the last few days."

"I know." Donnie indicated at the computer. "I'm not too worried about that yet though. I've pulled the police records about the bank robbery and so far there's been no mention of any involvement by the mousers, nothing about Stocktronics at all."

The other two crowded around the computer, unsurprised that Donnie had gotten into the police computer - he had been doing it for years at the insistance of Master Saki. Sure enough, there was nothing about the company, merely witness reports of strange noises, footprints and holes. Forensics claimed that something with 'a metal blade' had made the holes, but had been unable to narrow it down further.

"I did a search of the cold case files last night too," added Donnie, typing rapidly. "Check this out."

He pulled up a page detailing a report of a brutal murder, a man discovered lying in a pool of his own blood, the door knocked off his apartment. There was a list of injuries inflicted before death that made them all wince. It hadn't been interrogation, it had been torture, pure and simple. Cause of death had been two deep stab wounds that punctured his heart.

The man had been a Japanese immigrant by the name of Hamato Yoshi.

Mikey let out a breath. "So that part of his story checks out."

"And now we have three problems." Raph sat and rubbed his temples. "One; we dunno if we can trust Master Saki. Two; we dunno if this Splinter's telling the truth or not. Three; we have some psycho broad to worry about."

The three exchanged gloomy looks and fell into silence. Mikey was about to break the quiet when he paused, hearing something outside.

There was a knock on the door and then Leonardo entered. "Hey guys. I gave a report to Master Saki. I didn't tell him about the guy who jumped us though, who wants to look bad, right? You wanna - hang out?"

The other three exchanged looks. Then Mikey got to his feet, stretched and yawned. "Nah. I'm beat."

"Me too," said Raph.

"Me three," added Donnie.

Leo glared at them and folded his arms, suddenly sick of the silent routine they were giving him. "Why are you all avoiding me?"

"We're not avoiding you," said Mikey.

"You are!" Leo glared at his brothers. "You're all keeping secrets and I thought. . ." He looked at the floor, trying to keep his emotions in check. "I thought we were brothers. I thought we could always rely on each other. That the four of us would remain united no matter what. That if you had problems, you could talk to me about them - but no. You don't trust me, none of you! You think I don't see that? You think I'm blind? You can trust me enough to lead but you can't. . ."

"Leo! ENOUGH!"

Donnie and Raph blinked as Mikey lost his temper. Mikey _never_ lost his temper. But now he was standing up to Leo, face screwed up in anger, the scars on his face pale and pulling up his lip into the permenant sneer that was so unlike their brother.

"You lead us? Yeah, you always led us well! You're too tied up with the Foot Clan and Karai and turning yourself into a minature Saki that you can't see what's going on right under your nose! Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and complaining and trying to make _us_ feel guilty, why don't you try opening your eyes and _taking a look around_! You don't _see_ anything, you don't _question_ anything, you're just a - a _drone_, who can't think for himself!"

Leo tried to grab Mikey's arm as he stormed out of the room. "Mikey. . ."

"Leave me alone Leo!"

"Michelangelo, come back here!"

Ignoring him, Mikey left, slamming the door closed behind him so hard that the other three winced. For a few seconds, there was silence in the room.

Raph looked at Leo's shocked face, still staring at the door, and decided that it might not be the best time to continue the conversation. "I'm gonna hit the sack," he said, going over to the door.

"Me too," added Donnie, following him quickly.

"Uh, Donnie, this _is_ your room."

"Shut up Raph."

They left hurriedly and Leo was alone, still unable to believe his brother had just screamed at him. Raph he could have believed, but Mikey? He wanted everyone to get along, was the most likely to diffuse arguments between the other three. Where had he suddenly got a temper from?

Sitting on Donnie's bed, Leo tried to make sense of what Mikey had said. true, Mikey didn't know he had found out about Splinter but did he really think that Leo would just follow Saki's orders blindly, without question?

_They all think that. That's why they didn't tell you about him in the first place._

And if Mikey really felt so strongly about Saki, if he despised him so much, there was no way he could hide it for long. Mikey was like an open book. He wore his emotions all over his face and had never learned the art of subterfuge. In the unlikely event of Master Saki not noticing the contempt, Mikey might do something stupid. Like ditch the Foot and head off on his own. The way things were looking, Raph and Donnie might decide to join him, although they didn't seem as convinced of their Sensei's motives as Mikey. And then the Foot would have to chase them down and Leo would have to choose between his brothers and his clan.

Trying to remain objective about the whole thing was hard work. Leo felt more than a little hurt by Mikey's outburst, not to mention that his brothers hadn't trusted him even before that. Raph and Donnie hadn't even tried to talk to him after Mikey had left, had just about broke their necks to get away from him. Was it even worth trying to repair their relationship, or should he just give up and let them do what they wanted? He'd still have the Foot and his life here, which he'd never felt dissatisfied with before his brothers decided to take a detour through high security.

No. They were _brothers_ and that meant they were in this together, the four of them, whether they wanted his help or not. He wasn't going to let them rush blindly into anything based on the words of a mutant rat.

_So what's the plan then, fearless leader?_

_I have to let them know that I know about Splinter and that I haven't told Master Saki. But first, I have to talk to Mikey._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Shredder laughed as he weilded the Sword of Tengu, revelling in its power. The metal from which it was made was attracted to other items made from the same substance, a substance which could not be replicated on this planet. The only beings who could have any of the strange metal, apart from himself, were his ancient enemies, the captors he had escaped a long time ago. He had sworn revenge on them, but they had proved elusive. In Japan he thought he'd trapped them, many times, but they had always proved elusive. Both sides had their protectors, the Foot and the Guardians, both sides reason to hide themselves from the world.

Saki was tired of hiding. Secrecy was only good as long as it got him what he wanted. For now, it suited him to be accepted by this world, but it irked him that his enemies could do so in an identical fashion. But now he had the sword - all that would change. He could seek them out, discover the limits of their tecnology and then dispose of them all. The Guardians were good, but they weren't the Foot.

He had shown none of his glee when Leonardo brought him the sword of course, merely listened to the turtles report and dismissed him. He was pleased that they had achieved their goal without problem and equally glad that of late, there seemed to have been a widening rift between the four. There was such a thing as a team being too good. When that happened, they couldn't adapt to a loss of a member or work well with a replacement. And he wanted their allegiance to be to him rather than each other. He had a feeling that things were going to change for his young charges soon - and not all of those changes would make their lives better.

But first things first. He needed proof that his enemies were in the city, as he suspected they were. Now he had the sword, he could locate that evidence and decide how to progress from there. And he knew just which group of reptiles he was going to send out to find that proof.

He _would_ find the Utroms. And their discovery would lead to their destruction, at his hands. It was going to be a pleasure.


	8. Acting On Impulse

Author Note: If ya could see SS right now, ya would see her practically bouncing off the walls with excitement and pride. . . I was nominated in 9 categories for the fan fiction awards! The story you're reading right now was nominated in Best Drama and Best Villain. I really wasn't expecting it at all and I'd like to thank the person or people who nominated me! And to wish my fellow nominees luck also. There are some excellent fics on the list that deserve the recognition.

This chapter is slightly shorter than most of the others, but there is good reason for it. I wanted to end the chapter at a certain point and I got to it sooner than I thought I would. I know, I updated faster than usual - don't get too used to it! And apologies to those awaiting the new chapter od 'In Too Deep' - had a couple of problems with it and when I got over said problems, I managed to screw up my keyboard (so much for the time I put aside to write the new chapter, huh?). It will be up by the end of the week, no matter what!

Hope ya all had a good Xmas and Santa brought ya everything ya wanted!

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Leo found Raph and Donnie in Raphael's room. Both of them looked up guiltily when he entered.

"Guys, have either of you seen Mikey?" Leo rubbed his forehead wearily, wondering why life had to be so difficult. "He's not in his room."

Raph shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he went for a midnight run."

"Master Saki wants to see us in the morning. After the last training session we screwed up, he shouldn't be exhausted tomorrow."

"If ya so worried, go and find him," replied Raph.

"Yeah, I'm worried and you should be too! He's not been acting like himself lately, in case you hadn't noticed."

"He's just been having a tough few days," said Donnie, trying to placate the situation.

"Not that you'd notice," muttered Raph.

Leo's eyes flashed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Can't ya work it out, fearless leader?"

"Listen hothead, if you. . ."

"GUYS!" Donnie raised a hand to shut the bickering pair up. "This isn't helping. Mikey can look after himself. He just needs to work off some steam."

Folding his arms, Leo glared at them. He wanted to blurt out that he knew what they were hiding and he'd kept their secret - but if he just announced it, Raph would go nuclear, accusing him of spying on them. Then they'd argue worse than ever, he'd lose thier trust altogether and nothing would be achieved. He had to pick his moment carefully. Instead of arguing the point further, he turned and stalked out of the room.

Don frowned. "Great Raph. Did you have to antagonise him?"

"He knows something."

"He does now! Between your baiting him and Mikey's little outburst, he's got to realise something's amiss."

Raph sighed, his anger dissipating. "So, what do we do about it?"

"I think we should tell him."

"You're not serious."

"Leo's smart. He'll know what to do."

"_You're_ smart."

"Not like Leo. I know about things but Leo knows about people. He can see a way around problems, he'd know if Splinter's telling the truth and where else we can go for more answers - there's only so much I can find out of the computer and I've got everything I can think of. I don't know what to do from here. It's irritating me and I know it's getting to you. And do you think Mikey would have gone off like that if he wasn't being driven crazy too?"

"And if he goes to Saki?"

"Do you really think he will?"

"I - I don't know." Raph pulled out a sun and moon dagger and began twirling it around his finger. "Sometimes it's like we don't even exist bacause he's too busy playing Saki Junior, being the good little Foot Ninja. But have ya noticed he's been trying to do the brother thing lately? Even before Mikey found Splinter. I don't know what to think."

"I still think we should tell him."

"We can't do anything without talking to Mikey first."

"True." Donnie frowned. "I wonder where he is? It's not like him to take off without saying anything. I mean. . . he will come back, right?"

"He'll be back." Raph tried to look reassuring, but Don could read the tension in his face. "Mikey wouldn't just run out on us. Not in a million years."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Mikey was contemplating doing just that.

He sat on a rooftop overlooking the harbour, close to where they had fought the weirdo in the hockey mask, staring out over the city. There were so many conflicting thoughts in his head, he'd had to get out and think things through.

He was slow to anger and quick to cool off, most of the time. Going nuclear at Leo was a sign of how stressed he really was. Everything was so - _fucked up_. If only he hadn't told Yuriko he'd give the meals out, he wouldn't know any different. And what had it mattered? She'd died anyway. The extra half-hour it gave her to train made no difference at all.

He wasn't really mad at Leo. He was just so sick of the self-serving bullshit the Foot came up with and Leo spouted it most of the time. How they should be thankful to their Sensei, proud to be a part of the Clan. Mikey saw no reason to be proud, not when their Sensei was so brutal.

It all came down to who he believed. Master Saki, who had brought them up and sheltered them, trained them, encouraged them. Or Splinter, an unknown quantity who appeared from nowhere and told them some stupid story with no proof, expecting them to buy it.

Mikey believed Splinter.

Maybe it was because of his scars. Maybe it was because of his unease with the Foot. Whatever the reason, he thought that Splinter was telling the truth. All the evidence so far pointed to him being honest.

Which left him in a quandry; what was he to DO about it?

His first instinct was to run. Get the hell away from Saki and live his life far away from the Foot, hide himself somewhere and hope they never found him.

But - there was his brothers. Sure, they hadn't been close in a long time, but recently they had been sharing secrets and it had made him feel more secure about his place in the mutant family. He had told Raph and then Donnie hadn't just helped them, he revealed he too had been going against Master Saki. If he just ran, he would be leaving them behind to face the music. And possibly Leo too, who knew nothing about what had been going on.

Not to mention what would happen to Splinter. Master Saki had been keeping him alive for a reason and Mikey believed it was something to do with the four of them. If he ran, then maybe Saki would do something to Splinter. But, if Mikey went back to Foot headquarters - maybe he could help Splinter in some way, free him.

Yeah. And maybe pigs would go airbourne. But he had to at least _try_.

The question was, _how_ was he going to free the rat? Leo would have a plan, but Leo didn't know about Splinter. Donnie might be able to come up with something, but Mikey wasn't sure that he wanted to involve his brothers in some wild escape plan. What if something went wrong? It would be better just to break Splinter free himself and take off. Saki would suspect their involvement but Don and Raph were smart enough not to say anything and Leo's honest shock should convince their Sensei he had acted alone.

Mind made up, Mikey began devising a plan to free Splinter. Screw waiting around. Something had to be done.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

At that time of the night, the monitoring room was deathly quiet but the Foot soldier keeping an eye on the cameras was wide awake. Mikey leant around the door and took out a _fukiya_, arming it with a dart and shooting the Foot ninja in the back of the neck. A second later collapsed across the monitors and Mikey could continue unobserved.

On one of the screens Mikey could see some kunoichi watching television but the others showed no one hanging around. High security was in darkness and just to make sure no one could find out where he was in case the unconcious ninja was discovered, Mikey disabled all the cameras. It would take hours to get them back online and by the time they were, he and Splinter would be long gone. The door to the cell would pose a bigger problem. No doubt it was reinforced and the lock read hand prints rather than a simple numerical code. But Mikey had seen Donnie working on the lock back-up system and knew if he could rewire it, all the locks in the building would be rendered instantly useless.

Unfortunately, knowing where the damn circuits were located didn't mean he knew what he was doing. Quickly, he yanked a couple of wires and went over to the door, trying the lock. It still worked. Frustrated, he stormed back over to the circuits and pulled all of them, snapping several and pulling the rest out of their moorings. The lock on the door to the monitoring room bleeped quietly and disengaged. With a grin, Mikey went over and tried to lock it. Nothing happened. The system was dead.

So far, so good. But he had to be quick. He left the room and hurried through the skyscraper, making his way to maximum security. he passed no one on the way and was sure that he couldn't be observed now that the cameras were out of action. Still, he was careful. He might be reckless but he wasn't stupid.

Solitary was gloomy, the lights dimmed down, but high security was in almost total darkness. Mikey crept forward, wondering if Splinter realised that the door was now unlocked. How technologically savvy were rats? Maybe he hadn't realised, or maybe he was already long gone.

Only one way to be sure.

Ahead of him, he could see the door to Splinter's cell, closed. Was he still in there? Walking toward the door, Mikey stretched out an arm to push it, see if it opened. . .

"Your plan has failed."

Mikey whirled around and narrowed his eyes. His Sensei stood before him in full armour, the helmet hiding his face save for the eyes, which glared menacingly at the turtle.

"You rrecent change in attitude alerted me, warned me to be on my guard. And tonight, you have proved my suspicions correct. I took you in when I might have left you to die, trained you in the art of ninjitsu - and this is how you repay my benevolence? By conspiring with my enemies, undermining me? Michelangelo, did you really think you could get away with this - this _insolance_?"

As the Shredder advanced, Mikey let his hands drop to his weapons, faintly aware of a noise from the cell behind him - Splinter, banging on the door. It was still locked - his attempts at rewiring had failed somehow. Which left him to face the Shredder alone. And the Shredder knew that Mikey had betrayed him.

Dropping hisd hands to his belt, Michelangelo grabbed his _chigiriki_ and prepared to fight.


	9. No Matter How Far

Hey guys! For those awaiting the new chapter of 'Deep', I have been working on it but I'm having a bad week (oh boy, am I having a bad week!) and right now I should be studying not writing but WTF. I apologise for my sparodic updates in all my fics, but ya know how it is. Thanks as always to all those who have reviewed and the same old warning again: I don't have a spellcheck programme and if I've missed anything or made a mistake, don't worry about drawing my attention to it.

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Leonardo always awoke early but this day, he left his room rather than concentrate on his meditation with the explicit intent of talking to Mikey. He couldn't let the issues between them go unresolved. If he were ever to regain their trust, he had to earn it and that meant persuading Mikey that he was on their side over Master Saki's, every time without fail.

Even without his habit of early rising, it was unlikely that Leo would have remained in bed. He had been lying awake half the night wondering about his brothers words. _Was_ he too concerned about emulating Saki, so immersed in the life of the Foot that he failed to look out for his siblings? Of all of them, it was Mikey who had the most reason to think that. He had been disfigured by their Sensei and although it had never been spoken of since, maybe Mikey still harboured some resentment against Leo. After all, he was their leader, the one who was supposed to look out for them. And how exactly had he looked out for Mikey? He hadn't even realised something was about to happen and after it had, he had put the incident to the back of his mind. Perhaps he should have gotten his brothers away from the Foot right then. . .

_You were NINE, what the hell could you have done?_

The thought was true, but Leo still felt guilty. Surely there was some action he could have taken, even if it was just to discuss his options with the others and make them see that he didn't always have all the answers, that he had done what he thought was best. Maybe he wasn't always right - but he had been nine years old, what could he have done to get them away? And would that have been the right thing or just another mistake?

Reaching Mikey's room, he knocked loudly on the door and let himself in when he received no reply. He wasn't going to let his brother ignore him this time.

But there was no one in the room.

Frowning, Leo walked over to the bed. Nothing looked any different than it had the night before when he went looking for Mike, but something was setting all his instincts on alert - and then he realised what it was. _Nothing_ looked any different. The same book was open on the bed, the same carelessly discarded shuriken lay on the pillow. It was unlikely that even Mikey could sleep with those bedfellows and even less likey that he wouldn't dislodge them as he slept even if he hadn't moved them.

Mikey hadn't slept in his bed last night. Maybe he hadn't even been home.

Leaving the room, forcing himself not to run, Leo headed for the nearest of his brothers rooms, which happened to be Raph's, bursting in without knocking. Raph had long since rejected a conventional bed in favour of a hammock for reasons known only to himself. The sudden slam of the door opening caused him to sit up too quickly and overturn the hammock, landing him on the floor.

"Dammit!" Raph leapt to his feet, saw who was there and relaxed. "Leo! Try knocking sometime why doncha?"

"You never do," pointed out Leo, not anxious to get into a fight but unable to resist pointing that out. "Have you seen Mikey?"

"I was asleep! Why would I have seen Mikey?" But Raph's expression changed, going from irritated to overly casual and making Leo suspicious.

"We're due at training in less than an hour and his bed hasn't been slept in."

Raph cursed loudly. "I'll go ask Don."

"Right. I'll ask the kunoichi. I know he goes to see them if he can't sleep." Privately, Leo doubted anyone had seen their brother. He had a bad feeling about the situation. But Mikey couldn't just have vanished, wouldn't have just run off and left them, no matter how angry he had been.

Would he?

Raph didn't bother trying not to run. He fled to Donnie's room and burst in, shaking his brother awake with a feeling very close to panic.

"Whuh. . ." Donnie raised his head sleepily from the pillow. "Raph?"

"Mikey's not home."

Immediately, Donnie forgot all about sleep. "But - that means he's been gone for hours! What if he's gone for good? You know he'd never defy Sensei like this unless he had a damn good reason!"

"I know."

"You said he'd come back."

"I know!" Raph scowled in aggrivation. "He would. He'd come back no matter what. I _know_ he would. Unless he couldn't."

"You think something happened to him?"

"I - I don't know." Raph sat on the end of Donnie's bed and rested his head in his hand. "I should have gone after him last night. I shouldn't have let him run off."

"Hey, you couldn't have stopped him." Don rested a hand on Raph's shell. "There's only one way we'll know for sure if Mikey came back here last night."

"How?"

"We go to training and act surprised if he doesn't show."

"What the hell does that help? If Mikey _does_ come back and he's just late, he'll be in big trouble!"

"He might just not want to talk to us and then he'll show. And if _Saki_ makes an excuse, we'll know that he knows more than he's telling. And we have to be careful now. If Mikey _has_ done something rash or if he's run off, we can't let Saki know we know about Splinter."

Raph tried to translate this. "So, we act like we know nothing?"

"Shouldn't be too much of an act for you," replied Donnie with a weak smile.

"I don't like this Don," said Raph, getting to his feet. "I'm worried. This isn't like Mikey at all."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

There were only three turtles who turned up to training in the dojo that morning. They lined up in their typical formation, exchanging worried glances at each other. Master Saki was running late too, which did nothing to appease their fears, but they knew better than to converse in the dojo, even if Sensei wasn't there.

A few minutes into their customary training hour, the door swung open and Saki entered. The three bowed to him and their Master nodded, seeming distracted.

"We shall begin."

"Master Saki," began Leo, unusaullly reticent. "Shouldn't we wait for Michelangelo?"

"Oh, were you not informed?" Saki gave them a cold smile. "Michelangelo was taken sick last night. He is quarantined in the medical unit until it can be fathomed what ails him. Now, on with your training. Leonardo, you will be facing Raphael and Donatello. Attempt to subdue them both. You have five minutes and then you shall switch. Begin."

Raph and Donnie tried hard not to look in each others direction. Saki's story was confirmation to them that something about Mikey's sudden disappearance wasn't as it seemed. Instead, they tried to concentrate on taking Leo down. After five minutes, it was Don's turn to have two opponents, followed by Raph.

"Not bad," said Saki when they had finished. "I have a task for you three this evening. Report back to me at nine tonight. For now, I must cut short your session. I have important matters to take care of."

The three turtles bowed to their Sensei as he left the dojo and finally Raph and Donnie allowed themselves to meet each others eyes, sick with worry. Leo noticed and tried not to comment.

"Don, Raph, do me a favour," he said urgently. "Don't leave the building for a while. Stay where I can find you."

"It's broad daylight Leo," growled Raph. "Where the hell would we go?"

"Looking for Mikey?"

Raph blinked, speechless. It hadn't occured to him that Leo would find anything odd about Sensei's story, although it didn't surprise him to have his plans second-guessed by the leader.

Leo lowered his voice. "Just trust me, for once, please. Don't go anywhere. Give me a chance to think."

"We'll stay here," said Don, shooting a warning look at Raph.

"Thanks Don." Leo walked out of the dojo, leaving Raph and Donnie to wonder just what their brother had in mind.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

In truth, Leo had no plan in mind. He was too confused by what had been happening over the past few weeks. Saki, his brothers, Splinter - he just needed to clear his head before he made any judgements and he needed to know that Raph and Donnie wouldn't get into any trouble while he did so.

Once back in his own room, he shot a longing glance at the computer in the corner. It was nowhere near as sophisticated as Donnie's, but it allowed him to send mails and at that moment he longed to talk to Karai. She always managed to put things into perspective for him and right now, he could use a little perspective on matters. He turned on the machine and waited the thirty seconds or so for the screen to come up - and in that short time, he changed his mind. Much as he wanted to talk to her, some instinct was screaming at him not to. It was a first. There had never been a time before that day when he hadn't felt he could ask Karai's advice about anything, but he had learned never to ignore his instincts and right then, they were saying that speaking to Karai was exactly the wrong thing to do.

With a sigh, he turned the computer back off and instead lit a candle, settling down into his usual spot and preparing to meditate. Clearing his mind was difficult. He was distracted, nervous, worried. It took all of his concentration to put all that to one side and _focus_. . .

For a time there was nothing save for the usual feeling of freedom and calm that came with meditation and in his trance, Leo's body lost it's tension, relaxing, his mind consumed with the spiritual.

And suddenly, there was a vision before him.

Leo had heard of such things happening during meditation, the mind leaving the body and transcending the physical plane, but it had never happened to him before and it was all he could do to keep his focus, to not lose what he had.

_The scene before him was familiar and yet unknown. He seemed to be at floor level, able to sense the blanket beneath him but not to feel it in the traditional manner. He was aware of someone beside him and knew without having to look that it was Donatello, fast asleep. He could hear breathing, gentle snoring and realised it was his brothers - all his brothers, Mikey and Raph at the other side of Donnie._

_There was someone in his line of sight, a tall figure, or so it seemed from his vantage point on the floor. Not a man. Someone hunched and hairy, carrying a bag. The figure stowed the bag away and approached the four turtles. Leo didn't feel threatened however, he felt safer than he had done before. He closed his eyes . . ._

_And suddenly snapped them open again, aware of noise and movement and something alien invading the territory. Movement from beside him and Raph was flying toward the disturbance, a Raph that was tiny and defenceless but still prepared to fight._

_There were people everywhere, people dressed in black. The tallest one had the hairy figure in one hand, examining him and as Raph attacked, he bent and grabbed the turtle by the shell, turning him this way and that like the most amazing thing he had ever seen._

_"Waff! Bad man got Waff!"_

_Another turtle shot from the pile of blankets they lay in and Leo knew it was Mikey. Beside him, Don jumped to his feet and Leo follwed suit, knowing he had to save his brothers and his - _

_- Sensei - _

_- From the intruders, aware that there was nothing he could do. . ._

_Jumbled images of being carried, subdued, his brothers screaming and yelling, some kind of vehicle taking them away. And finally, a white room, windowless, featureless. Raph hollering and trying to knock the door down. Don, examining the room carefully. Mikey crouched against the wall, bewilidered. And himself, not knowing what the hell was going on._

_And then someone entering the room. _

_Karai!_

_"My Sensei saved you from the nasty bad rat man."_

_"Kept you hidden in the sewer."_

_"Splinter's dead."_

_"You can live with us. We can be friends."_

Friends. . .

Leo snapped out of his trance, unable to maintain the concentration needed. _Not_ a vision. A memory, long forgotten. Living with someone else, before they moved into the Foot headquarters.

Splinter. It was hard to mistake the rat for anyone else. The memory had Leo feeling safe when he arrived, his brothers at peace. And then the Foot, overrunning their home.

Was it possible that Splinter had affected him to the point where his meditations were disturbed by the ramblings of an insane rat? No. Leo knew well enough how to free his mind of distraction and that meditation led him to answers, not always welcome ones but answers all the same.

The rat was telling the truth all along.

Not moving, Leo worked through the vision, memory, whatever. That Splinter was telling the truth all along wasn't the part that concerned him the most. It was Karai.

Karai had been there. She had to have known all along what had happened to them, that Saki had been deceiving them, deceiving _him_ - and she had let him go on believing the lie. She had lied to him. She had lied to him for _years_, pretending to be his friend while all the time she lied to him about where he had come from, who he was. . .

He got to his feet, trying to force the anger down until such time as it could be useful to him. _Screw_ diplomacy. He needed to tell his brothers what he knew and force the truth out of them. If they continued to skate around the issue, Mikey would be in serious danger, if even half of what Leo believed was possible. And there was no way that Leo was sacrificing his brother just to preserve the status quo that the lie gave them.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Raph paced the room, Don trying to calm him down. As usual, they had retired to Donnie's room and he was concerned that if Raph decided to get any more worked up, he might do some damage just to let off some steam. Had they been in Raph's room, it would probably already be in ruins.

"I think we should take off," said Raph, pulling out one of his daggers and spinning it around. "Leo's probably gone to ask Saki a lot of pointless questions and swallow a bunch of lies. Mikey wasn't sick."

"I know he wasn't, but Leo did ask us to wait here . . ."

A sun and moon dagger impaled itself in the wall about a foot above Donnie's head. There was no danger of it hitting him, but it cut of his words immediately. When Raph started hurling weapons at things, a full-blown explosion of violence wasn't usually far behind. The Dragons had given him an outlet to blow off some of that anger, making it rarer to see him go nuclear, but the worry about his brother, the uncertainty of Splinter and the fact that the Dragons had been _way_ down his list of things to do recently meant that his patience was at breaking point.

"I'm _sick_ of waiting!" Raph stormed over to the wall and yanked the dagger from it. "I say, we go _now_."

"We can't."

The door had opened so quietly that neither Raph nor Don had heard it. They both turned in a hurry and saw Leo standing there. He closed the door gently behind him and approached, looking unsurprised at the scene before him.

"Don, are we safe to talk in here?"

"Why, you think someone might have bugged the room?" He meant it to be a joke, but when Don saw the lack of amusement in Leo's face, he realised that was exactly what Leo thought. "Well, yeah. Safe as it's gonna get. I still use the magnetic frequency dampener in here that I came up with a few months ago and I know that no one's been able to overcome it, not that I'm aware of. Stockman made it his personal mission, but he's stopped bragging about how he's gonna nail it soon and I think he's given up trying. Sometimes I like to test the new bugs out in here to see if I've found anything that can beat it but. . ." He trailed off, realising he was babbling.

Leo folded his arms. "We can't go anywhere, not right now. It'll be like advertising to Saki that we don't believe him and that we're part of some conspiracy along with Mikey. That won't help him, or us."

"_You_ don't believe him?" Raph was sneering, the look on his face advertising that he was spoiling for a fight with someone, anyone, and Leo had just volunteered to be the unlucky opponent. "Wow, and you always say that Master Saki can do no wrong."

"I've never said that."

"Oh sure, Fearless Leader, Saki Junior, standing here and giving out orders when he doesn't even _know_ anything!"

"Raph. . ."

""Well I'm _through _ with sitting around and waiting for _you_ to come up with a plan! I'm goin out and I am _finding_ Mikey."

"Raph!"

"And you ain't stopping me." Raph stormed over to Leo and got in his face. "Don't even try."

"RAPH!" Leo shouted into his brothers face. Usually he was the one to walk away from their fights, knowing no good would come of brawling and when he didn't back off, neither would Raph. He had seconds to talk his brother into listening. "If you don't calm down and listen to me then something really bad is going to happen to Mikey and if it does, I am going to hold you personally responsible. So _back off and shut the hell up_!"

Raphael hesitated, still wanting to let his fists do the talking but the mention of Mikey cut through the red mist in his head. Making sure Mikey was safe should be the first priority with taking out his anger coming later - but he found it so hard to be rational when his thoughts were saying _someone has to pay, I'll teach him to be so high and mighty when Mikey might be hurt or - or worse. . ._

Leo didn't drop his gaze and Raph narrowed his eyes, trying to force the fury away.

"Hey." Donnie put his hand on Raph's arm, forcing him to break eye contact with Leo. "He's right. If you storm off now, we might never be able to find Mike. We need to stick together, think of something."

Raph growled and glared back at Leo. "Fine. You got a plan, _Fearless Leader_? Tell us about it. And if it don't work. . ."

"I've thought of something," replied Leo, forcing himself not to sigh in relief. A leader was only effective as long as those he led were willing to follow and he knew without them, the three of them working together, there was no hope of their brother being found safe. "But I don't have the whole story."

"You seem to have worked most of it out for yourself," said Donnie, looking suspiciously at Leo. "What do you need us to tell you?"

"I need to know about Splinter."

Don didn't bother to hide his surprise, but nor did he waste time asking how Leo had found out. "Mikey went down there, to high security, doind a favour for the kunoichi that died. He saw Splinter, got talking to him. He told Raph and Raph told me and the three of us went down there and heard his story. He said that the four of us weren't part of an experiment at all - "

"I know the story," cut in Leo. "Then what happened?"

"Uh. . . Mikey was really worked up about it and thought we should do something but Raph and I didn't know if we should trust Splinter or not. I guess last night Mikey was tired of worrying and that's why he lost his temper and we never saw him again after he left the room."

"Mikey doesn't usually charge in blindly," said Leo thoughtfully. "But he's never been especially restrained or patient either. I think we have to assume he tried to act without us and was caught."

"No shit Leo." Raph resumed spinning his daggers. "Question is, what do we do about it?"

"First thing; we don't go down to solitary, no matter what."

"Ya not serious! We might find something down there - hell, _Mikey_ might be down there!"

"And if Mikey _was_ caught down there, don't you think there might be added security?" Leo waited for Raph to nod in reluctant agreement before continuing. "Even if he's down there, how would we get him and Splinter out? And then get through the skyscraper to the exit, find somewhere to lie low and recover from the battle? We need to think ahead."

"We _need_ to do something _fast_!"

"I know. And we will."

"Actually," said Don, slightly reluctant to add to his brothers worries. "I don't think we need to worry about Saki actually - y'now, killing him."

The other two winced and Donnie looked at them guiltily. "I'm sorry, but you can't deny you were worried about it. I was, I still am. I could be wrong. But Mikey's of more use to Saki alive than he is dead."

Leo and Raph looked at him with hope. Leo uncrossed his arms for the first time and for a moment it looked like he might smile - but then he considered the words properly and frowned instead. "Care to explain that?"

"Mikey's a good fighter, Saki knows that. It's just that he's lost his loyalty to the Foot Clan. If he could be re-educated, brainwashed, he could be back here and working for Saki again pretty soon. Or he could be held as an incentive to the three of us, meaning that there's no way we could ever go against him, never leave the Foot, because if we did our brother would pay the price. Or, if nothing else. . . we're pretty unique in case you haven't noticed. I'll bet Stockman would do just about anything to get his hands on a generous sample of DNA. Hell, even without Stockman, Saki could just name his price and Mikey's gone to some lab before we could do anything to stop him."

"But that would mean, he might already be gone!" Raph punched a wall. "We can't hang around any more! We have to act!"

"Not yet. Tonight." Leo looked at the floor rather than at the faces of his brothers. "I want to go now, as much as you do, but our best chance of succeeding is - "

"Ya wanna leave Mikey's life up to _chance_?"

"No! But like Donnie said, there are other possibilities and to arrange for Mikey to leave Foot headquarters would take time. Odds are, he's still in here somewhere. They won't try to move him until dark. And by then, we'll be able to put our plan into action."

"There's one thing bothering me, " said Donnie, not wanting to extinguish their hope that Mikey was still alive but knowing he had to say something, warn them. "Mikey knew that Raph and I knew about Splinter. But we're still here, no one's come to take us for interrogation or anything. That means that either Mikey didn't tell Saki we were involved - or that he can't."

Raph turned to Donnie, the rage rising in his eyes once more. "Ya mean, all that shit ya just spouted about Mikey being still alive was _bull_?"

"That's not what he said Raph." Leo closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "All it means is that we have no guarantees, only theories. No matter what, we wait until tonight and then we act."

Raph looked like he might start shouting or worse, attack Leo. Instead, he sat heavily on the bed and covered his face with his hands. "If Mikey had - if anything had happened to Mikey, we'd know."

"I agree." Leo prayed he was right. It had been a long time since they had been close, but he still hoped - no, he _believed_ - that should one of his brothers die, he would know somehow. He felt sympathy for Raph too, because the plan would be hardest on him. Raph wore his emotions on his face. Not only did he find it harder to conceal what he was feeling, everything he felt was an extreme. Angry, bewildered and scared they may all be but it was Raphael who would have the hardest time feigning neutrality.

"Saki said something at training today about us going out tonight on a mission."

"Leo, we can't!" Don pulled out his _Nagitana_ and began spinning it around. "You want us to go and help the Foot when we think Mikey might have been. . ."

"Hush Don." Leo raised a hand and tried to keep his voice level. Talking them into this was going to be the hardest part. "We go out on the mission. If. . ."

"We _can't_!"

"Donnie, we _have_ to! We have to do this or we've no chance of helping Mikey."

Leo explained his plan, while his brothers listened with growing incredulity. As he finished, Raph shook his head slowly. "I don't see it working."

"It's the best chance we have," said Donnie, turning over the plan in his mind for problems. "There's a lot of room for error, but it's a good oppertunity. We can't afford to wait until a better one comes along."

"There's one thing I really can't work out," said Leo reluctantly. "We have to go somewhere safe, somewhere the Foot won't think of looking for us. I would say the sewer, if that's where we came from, but that's the first place they'll think to look. I don't know anywhere else we can go."

Don considered it for a moment and grinned, his first genuine smile of the day. "Leave it to me. I'll go to Stocktronics to pick up some notes, make it look like I've got a good reason to leave the skyscraper. Then I'll sort us some accomadation." He jumped up, grabbed his fedora and trenchcoat and was out of the room before the other two could ask where he was going.

Leo raised an eyeridge. "You know what he's up to?"

"I think I might."

"Raph - " Leo sat beside his brother. "We need you not to show any hostility to Saki when we see him. Make like you believe him. If you can't handle it. . ."

"I can handle it!" Raph glared at Leo. "I can save it for when we get back to get Mikey."

"And Splinter."

Raph nodded. "I hope you're right about why he wants us on a mission tonight."

"So do I," replied Leo, frowning. "But it's the only thing I can think of. And it doesn't matter. If I'm wrong, we still go in. We can't risk leaving Mikey any longer."

"Yeah. Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm - sorry. That we didn't trust you sooner."

Leo rested a hand on his brothers shell. "I'm sorry I never gave you a reason to."

Raph laughed without humour. "I guess the four of us got a lot of stuff to work out, huh?"

"Yeah," replied Leo with a wry smile. "But it'll wait until later. Until our brother's safe."

"Until we get Mikey back," agreed Raphael, his eyes darkening with fury. "And we get some payback on that son of a bitch Saki. I can't wait."


	10. A Different View

**Author Note: **Hey guys! I already said some of my thanks on the new chapter of 'Deep' but I wanted to say some here too! A huge THANK YOU to the people who voted for 'Destiny' in the fanfiction awards! This fic came joint second in 'best villain' and third in 'best drama'. And your author came first in two categories! 'Best action/ adventure' for 'It Had To Be Blue' and 'best one-shot' for 'Alone' (which also placed joint third in 'best tear jerker'). This means so much to me! People reading and reviewing means tons, just to know that ya stuff is liked, being voted as a favourite of someone means loads coz ya know you're doing something right and being placed in the top three - is awesome! I've been running around like Mikey during the Triceraton invasion doing his BATTLE NEXUS CHAMPION! thing, boasting left right and centre.

&&&&&&&&&&&

April was sat at her computer, working out the financial plausibility of reopening the antiques shop. She had been listless and worried after escaping Stockman's mousers, even more so when she realised that her rescuer knew enough about her to know where she lived. But it wasn't in her nature to hide away and hope that she wouldn't be noticed and besides, she had to eat. She couldn't exactly ask Stockman for a reference and didn't feel like slaving at some menial job for minimum wage. She wasn't afraid of a little hard work and the shop was just lying dormant, most of the stock still in the basement, so why not?

Her funds were healthy enough, which was just as well - reopening the place was going to take some cash. But she saw no reason why she should be unable to turn a profit. The stock she did have was in good repair and she had enough experience of the business to know about buying and prices, there might even be a few of her fathers contacts around who would be willing to give her a good deal on a few items. . .

"April."

With a scream, she turned and stared wildly around the apartment. At first she saw nothing, no one. And then she saw a figure lurking behind the kitchen counter, dressed in a fedora and trenchcoat. Her rescuer, in the apartment _again_ - but how? She'd put a lock on the window.

"You forgot to lock it," said the figure, indicating to the window with the fire escape outside. "I warned you, you have to be more careful."

"Why are you here?" April hadn't realised it was darkening, so engrossed she had been in her computer. But it was still light enough that she could see the figure more clearly than she ever had before. The fedora was pulled low so she couldn't see his face and the collar was pulled up high. The only thing she could be really sure of was the strange bulkiness of his form.

He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets before she remembered she needed to see if he really did have only three fingers or if she had been mistaken. "This is kinda awkward."

"Has Stockman worked out where I am?"

"Not that I know of. I think Stockman might have other things on his mind right now." He sighed, hunching his shoulders even higher and making her wonder why he seemed so determined to hide himself. "I, uh, I need some help and you're the only person I can think of who might be able to."

"Help?" April blinked a few times. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. "What kind of help? How can someone like me help you?"

"Remember Stockman's financial backer, the one you were so curious about? He's a very - powerful man. He has my brother and a, uh, friend of ours as hostages. My other brothers and I want to rescue them but after that we can't go home. We need a place to hide out for a few days. I know you have no reason to trust me, but there's no one else I can ask - will you help us?"

Frowning, April mulled the thought over. Her apartment was way too small for more than one or two people and she had only ever seen one of them - and even then, she would be hard pressed to describe him to anyone. Let a group of total strangers stay with her? She'd have to be stupid or naive or crazy.

And yet, he _had_ saved her life and Stockman hadn't found her yet. He'd given her good advice about keeping her head down. And now Stockman and his associates were after _him_ and had one of his brothers and he didn't sound old enough to shave yet. . .

So call her stupid, naive and crazy.

"You can stay here for a few days. How many of you are there?"

"Hopefully - " He paused for a second. "Hopefully there should be five of us."

"Well, I hope you can all use the floor and the couch because there's only one bedroom," she said, already plotting to fit a lock on the door. "But only a few days."

"Thank you." She could sense his eyes regarding her. "There's uh - look, there's something you should know about us. We're pretty different."

"Different?" April was already beginning to think this whole thing had been a bad idea and he wasn't making her feel any better about the situation. "Different how?"

"Um - wow, this is harder than I thought it would be." He emerged from behind the counter and April widened her eyes as she glanced down at his feet. He wore no shoes and she could see now that he had only two toes and the skin looked - _green­_?

He took his hand from his pocket and she saw with mounting dread that his hands were similarly coloured and had only three fingers, thicker than human hands. He reached up and took off the fedora and the final straw - his _face_ was green, hairless, dark eyes above a humanoid beak and the oversized mouth grimacing as he saw the horrified look on her face. . .

Eyes rolling back in her head, April passed out.

&&&&&&

_She dreamed that her rescuer disturbed her again, turning up at the end of the day so the light was adequate enough to see him for the first time, only to find that he was some kind of reptile in human form, green-skinned, tri-fingered, terrifying. . ._

She rose slowly from sleep, aware that she was lying on the couch and wondering at what point she had dozed off. In front of the TV again? That would explain the weird creature in her dream.

"That's it," she murmered sleepily. "No more films beginning with the words 'Attack of the giant'. Never again."

Opening her eyes, she yawned and stretched her arms out, luxuriating in the first few moments of wakefulness before the weight of reality could come crashing in.

"I got you a glass of water."

Pausing mid-stretch, April focused on the figure before her. He'd ditched the trenchcoat too and she could see him clearly, since he'd turned on the lamp at some point while she was passed out. There was no denying it, putting it down to B-movies before bed. There was a five foot talking turtle in her apartment.

He leant over toward her, offering the glass at her.

"AAAAAAARRGGHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream startled him and he took a few steps backward, foot catching in the rug and nearly falling back on his ass. Or shell. She felt helpless laughter bubbling in her throat.

"Please don't do that again!" He glanced down where some of the water had spilled from the glass and sighed. "I guess you don't want a drink then."

"You're a - a - "

"Turtle." He rubbed his bald head, looking embarrassed. There was something odd about such a human expression on a face so alien to her experience.

"Turtle." She took a few deep breaths and tried to get a hold on reality again. "OK April, you are talking to a giant, three fingered turtle. The only logical explaination is that you're sleeping - so everything's OK!" She gave the turtle a goofy grin. "Hello!"

"Um - hello. How are you feeling?"

"Oh _fine_, everything's absolutely _great_!"

"You're not dreaming."

"Whatever you say." She gave him the same smile, the one that said she didn't believe her own eyes and had decided to grasp the only explaination that made any sense.

The last of the water in the glass hit her in the face, more than enough to startle her. "Hey! What was that for?"

"I don't have time for this! You're not dreaming April, OK?"

She put her hand to her face and wiped the droplets away, suddenly aware that if this were a dream, why could she feel the dampness clinging to her flesh and running off her chin?

She wasn't dreaming.

She took in a breath, ready to scream again - and the turtle moved with lightning swiftness, covering her mouth and muffling the sound.

"Look, I can explain - but you have to be quiet and stop screaming!"

Eyes wide, mouth still covered by his hand, she nodded. With a frown, the turtle took his hand away but looked ready to repeat the action should she decided to start yelling again.

"I'm - my name is Donatello. And yes, I'm a turtle. For as long as I can remember, we've been looked after by a man named Oruku Saki - "

"The _businessman_?"

Donatello nodded. "I keep forgetting he has a public persona. He's also involved in organised crime and political manipulation, as well as any number of side projects. Stocktronics is one of his interests, that's how I ended up there."

"You were at Stocktronics? I would have remembered seeing you."

"You never saw me. I hid away. How was I going to explain myself to the other scientists?"

"You were a scientist?"

"An engineer. What, you thought I was an experiment?"

April had the good grace to blush a little. "Well, maybe."

Donatello looked resigned. "I guess that's a logical conclusion. We are mutants, true. It seems that at one point we were ordinary turtles but were exposed to something that mutated us into our current forms. What might have happened - well, I've heard a couple of conflicting stories about our origins, but one thing seems certain; it was nothing to do with either Saki or Stockman. Saki raised us as ninja, he's the leader of a clan known as the Foot. We were members of the Foot, until recently."

"Saki? Leader of a clan of ninja?" April was finding the whole thing a little hard to believe. Still, on the occasions when she saw the man on the television, he had seemed cold, hard. And the story explained a few things. And even if she didn't believe any of the story, there was still a five foot turtle in her apartment and there had to be some explaination for that. "So - why did you leave the Foot?"

"Officially, we haven't." Donatello resisted the urge to unsheath his _nagitana_ - that would only serve to agitate her more and he didn't think she had even noticed it at that point. "I have three brothers, Leonardo, Raphael and - and Michelangelo. Michelangelo accidentally found a prisoner in the skyscraper that Saki uses as headquarters, a mutant called Splinter who claims that we were kidnapped and that Saki is an evil man. He told Raph and Mikey and me about it and the story we could check out all adds up but we didn't know if we believed him. At least, Raph and I didn't."

"And your other brother - Leonardo? What did he think."

Donatello looked at the floor. "Look, the four of us haven't been exactly close over the last few years. Mikey and Raph wouldn't have told me about it if there had been any other choice. Leo's the one of us who most believes - _believed_ - in the clan. We thought he might betray us to Saki."

In spite of herself, April was entranced by the tale. "So what happened?"

"Last night, Leo insinuated that he knew we were hiding something and Mikey lost it. It's not like him to lose his temper, but he sure yelled at Leo. Then he stormed off and - well, he disappeared. Saki claims he got sick and he's in solitary in the med bay but we think that Mikey tried to see Splinter again, maybe even tried to free him and he was caught. We have to get him free before something terrible happens! We had to tell Leo what happened and he came up with a plan, but once we get Mikey and Splinter free, we need a place to hide out for a few days. There's no one else I can ask and nowhere else I can think of. Trust me, I don't want to drag you into this any more than you already are, but I really don't have much of a choice."

A part of April wanted to laugh. This - turtle - was feeding her a sob story about evil ninjas and kidnapped brothers and secret experiments and she was really supposed to believe him? Next he'd be telling her that Santa was secretly working for Saki too, in some kind of fly-by-night scam!

On the other hand . . . he seemed sincere, genuinely worried about this brother and determined to carry out his plan. Some of the things he had said did make a twisted sense. Stockman _had_ invented the mousers to be capable of killing a person - they'd gone after her, hadn't they? He had also mentioned a 'significant financial backer' that might be Saki. And Donatello had saved her life when he could have just left her to die in the sewers beneath the city, by the sound of things putting himself in danger of discovery by this clan.

While she thought things through, Donatello reached into his belt and pulled something out, throwing it on the couch beside her. She glanced at it curiously - one of the throwing stars that they showed so often on the martial arts films. There was a symbol engraved on it and she suddenly realised where she had seen it before. The night she had hacked into Stockman's computer system and discovered the lower levels that had previously been out of bounds to her, there had been a symbol on the computer. The same symbol that was carved into the star.

"It's a kind of good-luck token that Saki gave us once," said Donatello, noticing the look of recognition on her face. "Something to make us feel more like one of the clan I guess. That symbol's the mark of the Foot."

"I saw this - Stockman's computer, the night I was chased by the mousers!"

"It's not conclusive proof, but it's something." Donatello shrugged. "You don't have to help us. I can't force you. If you decide you want no part of this, I can leave right now and you'll never see me again."

"But where would you go?"

"I'll think of something."

"No." April made her mind up. "You'll come back here with your brothers and this Splinter. I - I don't know why I believe you, but I do."

Donatello exhaled, relief washing over his face. "Thank you. We'll use the fire escape. Expect us tonight, some time around midnight if everything goes to plan."

"And if it doesn't?"

"If we don't show up - we failed. You'll be in no more danger than you were yesterday. And you probably shouldn't expect us to show up again."

April was at a loss for words and Donatello didn't add anything else, merely retrieved his trenchcoat and fedora and exited silently through the window.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Raphael was beating seven shades of shit out of his punchbag, trying to work off some of his frustration before the mission that night. If Leo was wrong about what Saki wanted them to do, they were screwed. Even if he was right, the odds weren't great. Three mutant turtles, another possibly injured turtle and a long-imprisoned mutant rat against the entire Foot clan?

It was just fortunate that being outnumbered had never bothered him.

Hearing the door open, Raph turned and saw Donnie coming in. Leaving the punchbag alone for the moment, he glared at his brother. "Jeez, ya took ya time!"

"I had to make a couple of stops." Donnie indicated for Raph to follow him and they both went into Donnie's room, where Don checked his signal dampener before continuing. "I spoke to you-know-who - got us a place to go."

Raph raised an eye ridge. "Ain't she gonna be surprised when she finds out her new houseguests ain't human?"

"She, um, already knows." Donnie caught Raph's incredulous look and got defensive. "Well, we couldn't just turn up and announce we're green! What if she freaked?"

"And what if she calls someone in the meantime?"

"Like who, mutant-busters? Anyway, she won't."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"So, how did she react when she found out you were a turtle?"

"She kinda - fainted."

"Oh great. That's just great Brainiac."

"It's OK, she's over it now. She knows we're all coming."

"And did you mention that Splinter was a rat?"

"I, uh, told her he was a mutant."

Raph rolled his eyes. "This just keeps getting better and better."

"I don't see you coming up with any better ideas." Donnie glanced over at the papers he'd retrieved from Stocktronics. "I've made a few alterations on the computer at Stocktronics. I think some of their main projects might have attained major gliches all of a sudden. And I left a bag of tricks nearby. I thought it might help us."

"Good thinking." Raph glanced at the clock. 8-15. "Not long to go now. Man, I _hate_ waiting!"

Donnie nodded in agreement. "Where's Leo?"

"Meditating. I don't know how he can relax at a time like this!"

"One of us has to have a clear head," replied Donnie.

"Yeah, well I just hope he knows what he's doing."

They sat in silence for a few moments and then Raph growled. "Did I mention how much I hate waiting?"

Leo chose that moment to walk into the room. "Don, you're back. Beginning to get worried there bro."

"So what do we do 'til 9?" Raph pulled out a dagger, eyed it to make sure it hadn't gotten blunt since the last time he had checked, and put it away again.

"We go over the plan again," said Leo, a slight smile coming to his face. "Did you hear the news bby the way?"

Donnie and Raph shook their heads.

"Another blackout. This one by the docks."

Raph smirked. "Sounds like you just might have got Saki figured on this one Fearless Leader."

"I hope so Raph," repled Leo sombrely.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Casey Jones glared at the television set, a dumbbell in one hand. He worked out his bicep absently, mind working overtime. An unexplained blackout had hit the docks, explained the newsreader, meaning that the area would be in darkness for several hours at least. It was the second such blackout in the city in the past several days.

_Yeah,_ thought Casey. _And it was the first blackout that I ran into those weird-looking karate creeps. Wonder if this one's a coincidence - or if they're gonna be down by the docks?_

Only one way to find out.

Ditching the dumbbell, Casey rose and grabbed his hockey mask from its resting place on the weightlifting bench. Regarding his reflection in the mirror, he slipped the mask over his face, changing him from an ordinary guy to the vigilante who had been terrorising the Purple Dragons of late. His golf bag was lying next to the bench and he grabbed it, slinging it over his shoulder and removing a baseball bat, spinning it expertly around his hand. He rather liked the image looking back at him.

"They'll pay. They'll _all_ pay."

He returned the bat to the golf bag, turning from the mirror and heading for the door. He could still remember the confusion that had stolen his anger when he had been confronted by Scars, the green skinned - _thing_ - that had knocked him down and the pain of being blasted into the wall by whatever the other _thing_ had aimed at him. It looked like a sword, but it sure as hell wasn't a sword.

"Casey Jones is on the job!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The docks were dark, deserted, save for the three shadows that slipped through the blackness and headed toward the water. The tech division had already been there, leaving the vibrational cannon in place. All that remained was to use the Sword of Tengu to power it and hopefully find - well, whatever it was that Saki was looking for. The three of them weren't clear on what it was that Saki would find, if there was anything to find.

They weren't alone. Foot ninja surrounded the dock, watching their backs should anything go wrong. It was a problem that Leo had anticipated, but thought they could overcome.

"Remember guys," he said quietly. "We do this and go _straight_ back to HQ. If there's a time when Saki won't expect a betrayal, this is it."

"We know Leo," replied Raph. "Let's get this over with so we can help our brother."

They got to where the vibrational cannon had been left and Leo put on the glove, taking the Sword of Tengu from his back and inserting it into the machine. Immediately it began to hum and he stepped back.

"Donnie, what's it doing?"

"The sword seems to be attracted to something," said Donatello, jumping up to see the controls.. "Something in the river. The cannon should point us in the right direction."

The vibrational energy from the cannon focused on a spot in the river and slowly, the water whirled around, gaining speed and exposing the river bed and a glint of metal. Raph pulled out a radio and hit the button, trying to keep his voice even and free of irritation. "We found what we're looking for - bring in ariel support."

Casey Jones parked his motorcycle away from the docks and walked the remaining distance, not wanting the engine to attract attention and hoping that the shadows would cover him. There was total darkness, save for a strange glow by the waterfront and he made his way toward it, hoping it was what he was looking for. Before he got within sight of the pier, he noticed a helecopter approaching the area, stopping near the glow and hovering. A line emerged from its underbelly and Casey stopped, watching what was going on. The end of the line disappeared from his sight and a few minutes passed before it reappeared, something attached to the end.

Casey's eyes widened. Was that a _man_?

It was hard to see when there were no lights in the area and before he could be sure, the - whatever it was - disappeared into the chopper, which turned and flew away. Casey moved forward, heading toward the strange glow, which suddenly weakened and died.

_What the hell?_

He had gotten close enough to not need the glow to pinpoint the area. In the moonlight, he saw three figures, too short and bulky to be anyone but the _things_ he had been fighting several nights before. Grinning beneath the hockey mask, he reached for a baseball bat - then paused. If they _were_ in some way connected to the Dragons, they would be going back to report to their boss when they were done here. If he followed them, he could find out where the headquarters were, maybe do some more damage to the gang than a few random beatings afforded.

_Or maybe you could get yourself killed._

There was always that. But as always when he considered the wisdom of his vigilante actions, the image of his fathers burning store rose unbidden. The Dragons had done that, to his family, to his father - to _him_. No matter what, he owed them payback. And this way he might be able to find out where the Dragons ringleaders were. Taking out the gang members was one thing, but to eliminate the leaders might just be the one thing that caused the gang to fall apart.

And Hun could be there. If there was one person in the world Casey wanted to beat on the most, it was Hun.

Mind made up, Casey stuck to the shadows near the walls and hoped he could follow the freaks back to their hideout.

Protected by the glove, Leonardo removed the Sword of Tengu from the machine, unaware of the watcher in the shadows. Without the sword, the machine was rendered useless and Leo knew Saki had plans for its retrieval. Whatever. The recovery of the - whatever it had been, some kind of armour by the look - was their last act as Foot Ninja.

This was the end.

Putting the sword into the sheath on his shell, Leo glanced up at the rooftops. Mission over and successful, the Foot were leaving, barely visable. Just what he had hoped for. Saki wouldn't expect them to turn on him now, not after their apparent loyalty had been proven.

Don cleared his throat. "Leo?"

Leo took a couple of seconds to contemplate before he replied. His entire life, everything he had ever done, was based on the teachings of Master Saki and the Foot clan. Was he really going to betray that? Could he turn his back on his life and burn his bridges in the most final way possible?

Raph's voice invaded his thoughts. "Leo! Are we gonna stay here all night?"

"No." Leo narrowed his eyes and turned to his brothers. "We go back to Foot Headquarters now. We're gonna get Mikey - or we die trying."


	11. Life Is Ours

Hey guys! Guess what – I now have SPELLCHECK! Everyone bow to Pacphys, who told me an age ago about open office and which I downloaded, but it didn't seem to be working so I forgot about it. Then she reminded me of it in a recent review and curious, I checked out my files – I hadn't enabled it! Although in fairness, I still haven't actually worked it out properly – the computer keeps telling me the spellcheck is compete in spite of glaring errors. Anyone wanna call SS dumb? Form an orderly queue!

The next chapter will probably be the epilogue. I'm thinking of a sequel, which would be the readjustment of the TMNT to life after the Foot. Let me know what ya think of the idea!

This is the longgest chapter of the fic, running to a staggering 15 pages. Get yaself a coffee, snack or whatever coz ya gonna be here awhile!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Consciousness was slow in coming.

There was the light through his eyelids and he grimaced, not wanting to waken, but the light was to powerful to ignore for long.

Sensation was next. He was laid down on a cold steel table, the feeling of something wrapped around his wrists and ankles, straps across his torso. How he got there was still a mystery, but restraints proved that it was unlikely it was by choice.

Memory came after that. He had been angry, hurt, betrayed, deciding to free the being he believed to be truthful about his origins - but he had been cornered by the one person he had been brought up to trust. They had fought but he had been outmatched, knocked out and then. . .

He had been somewhere else. A room, stark white walls and no windows. He had been restrained then too, but this time by a person, holding him by his arms and never giving him the chance to break free. Someone who towered above him, whose strength was a match for his own and then some.

Hun.

And then the interrogation had begun. How did he know of the rat? Whom had he told? What other measures had he taken?

And the pain, of course. There had to be pain. How else could they know he was telling all he knew? The pain was insurance, that should he hold back on them, there would be more pain, then more pain, then more. And if he were lucky, death. If they did not believe him; more pain.

He had hung on for as long as he could, then told them a partial truth in the hopes that they would just stop hurting him, just for a while.

_For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed about a different life. . ._

The Master had grinned as he heard the details of the dream and then asked for more information. He had held on for a while longer and then told more.

_I didn't want Yuriko to be hurt and I told her I would help her by doing her chores while she practised, take the meals and no one would ever know. . ._

_No one else knew. We knew we couldn't tell anyone else. I wasn't supposed to be there - but it was just one time and I didn't want her hurt. . ._

_I spoke to Splinter. He told me what Saki did. I didn't know if I should believe him but after what happened to Yuriko, I knew Saki wasn't a good man and I needed to get away, to get Splinter away too if what he said was the truth. . ._

_I didn't tell anyone. . ._

After that, he stuck to the story. He kept the secret to himself. He hadn't told anyone, not his brothers, not Yuriko, no one. He was the only one who knew about Splinter, trapped in solitary. It had been him and him alone who had intended the break out. Otherwise, where had they been?

On occasion, he wanted to tell the truth, if it would stop the hurt. If they would leave him alone, he would tell them that he and Raph and Donnie had conspired to speak to the rat and they all knew about him. But that wouldn't stop it. All it would do would to be to put them in the same position he was in now. And the more he told, the more they hurt him. If they thought he had told them all he had to tell, they would have to leave him alone - or kill him. Either would be a relief. Anything - _anything _- to stop the pain that coursed through him, that made them leave him be, that made him unable to feel it anymore. Anything.

Then the familiar voice, saying he had nothing more to give them and the pain giving way to blessed nothingness as he was allowed to lose consciousness. . .

Nothing more until that moment.

There was an argument going on, one he hadn't really been aware of as more than background noise until then.

". . .Can't be serious?"

"He is more than just a freak to me. He has talent, has always served the Foot well. This is merely a momentary thing. Can you do anything to return him to us?"

"With all due respect, I'm an engineer not a psychologist."

"Engineering is fine. I need compliance, not some Freudian experiment."

"If you would allow me to experiment on his DNA, as I suggested I do to his brother, then I would be able to give you an army of warriors such as he, more agile, more able. . ."

"That takes time I do not have. His brothers have already asked for him. I refuse to do without them at a time like this."

_My brothers? _He tried to play comatose and listen in further.

"I am satisfied that he is the one amongst them causing problems. He is the one who discovered the rat."

"Rat?"

"Nothing you need be concerned with. He can destroy decades of work with a mere word. I need to know that he will not. I need the loyal Foot soldier back. I cannot afford him to disappear, nor can I afford him to speak of what he knows. I have a window of mere days. That is where you come in."

"Continue."

"I need him to - forget about the last few weeks. I can have him say it's due to a recent illness. He must never remember what he knows now."

"I'll certainly be able to do that - _master_." Tha last word dripped with sarcasm.

He held his breath at footsteps came toward him, then a tight grip, etched with metal, grabbed him by his cheeks and puckered his mouth.

"Do you think I do not know when you are faking it, turtle?" A cold laugh. "It is of no matter. Soon, you will remember none of this. All that you shall know. . ."

The face closed in on his sight, mask removed, but the merciless visage of Oruku Saki filling his vision.

"You are still my son. Now and forever."

"I. Am. NOT. Your. Son."

"Brave words. And meaningless." Saki laughed. "You have no choice. You are mine."

&&&&&&&&

Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael stood atop a building opposite the only home they had ever known. Even thought they were several storeys up, the Foot Headquarters was taller and seemed to loom above them, dark and imposing, Saki's traditional Japanese retreat atop it out of sight.

"We shouldn't have to go that far up," said Leo, eyeing the rooftop. "If anything, Mikey should be in high security. It's the most secure place in the building."

Don sat cross-legged on the roof and reached into his bag, pulling out a laptop computer. "I might be able to find out for sure."

"No way," said Raph. "Saki knows that ya can hack into the computer. He won't be dumb enough ta put the information on the system."

"Perhaps not," said Donnie, typing rapidly. "But that doesn't mean there aren't other ways to find out."

Leo and Raph exchanged blank looks over the top of his head. "Uh, bro?" said Leo hesitantly. "Care to run that by us again?"

"Shredder's pet genetacist – remember him?"

Raph grimaced. "Like we could forget. _Blood_ samples, _skin_ samples, _tissue _samples – that guy was so fonda needles, he shoulda taken up acupuncture."

Leo nodded. "But he vanished, years ago. He was on the mission under the city and the whole team went missing. Don't you remember how Ma- how Saki yelled?"

"I'd managed to repress it, until now," replied Donnie, most of his attention taken up by the laptop. "Which means the most brilliant scientist in Saki's employ by now is Stockman."

Leo allowed himself to feel a glimmer of hope. "You think you might be able to get something from S_tockman_?"

Donnie nodded absently. "I've never met someone so full of his own importance, his own intellect. He thinks that no matter what he does, he can never be outwitted. He works in riddles a lot on the computer. His last E-mail password was his own name in binary."

Raph raised an eyeridge. "You read his E-mail?"

"No, I just hacked in to it. Wanted to see if I could."

"But why would he be talking about Mikey on his mails?" Leo could feel the brief flare of hope fading.

"He wouldn't. He's self-important, not suicidal. But he keeps meticulous notes on everything else he does, so _if_ he knows something about Mikey, he would have kept records. Maybe at home, but there might be something on the Stocktronics computer, which of course I can access. After that it's just a matter of breaking the encryptions, bypassing the system and – _got it_!"

Raph and Leo leaned in, trying to see the screen. Leo rested a hand on his shell. "What have you got?"

"Here." Donnie pointed at the screen, at a line of text that the other two were too far away to make out clearly. "Look what it says. 'Test subject resistant to re-education. Insists that he was the only person involved in the plan was himself and after intensive questioning, it seems logical to believe this is the case. OS has also questioned the test subject, hereafter referred to as OM, with no further success. OS requests that the next step be the reintegration of OM to his clan. The feasability of this plan is under some question, OM somewhat agitated and has mindset that he has been betrayed. This scientist is an engineer and not a psychologist. However, OS understandably reticent to introduce another doctor to this matter due to the unique genetic makeup of OM and has pledged further financial donations to Stocktronics should this be quickly dealt with. I am of course easily the intellectual equal of any psycologist and do not anticipate one of such inferior intelligence will be a challenge. And should OM prove more stubborn than first thought, this is a rare opportunity to obtain genetic material that would otherwise be inaccessible. . .' Guys! Do you know what this means?"

Leo tried not to grin, realising for the first time just how afraid he had been for the welfare of his brother. "This 'test subject', OM – Oruku Michelangelo?"

Raph didn't bother trying to hide his joy. "Mikey's alive!"

Leo pondered over the rest of what Donnie had read to them, his eyes narrowing as he glared over to Foot Headquarters. "But Mikey's still a prisoner and it doesn't sound like they're going easy on him because they want him in the Foot. Donnie, is there anything to pinpoint where he might be?"

"Here." Donnie scowled at the screen. "Guys, we might have a problem. Mikey's not in high security. They have him in a private room up where the labs are."

Leo could see his perfectly thought out plan going straight to hell. "But – but that's a seven storey difference! If we get Mikey first, the Fott will know where we're heading and be waiting before we can get anywhere near Splinter. And if we get Splinter first, Shredder might get the chance to reach Mikey before we do!"

"We get Mikey first," said Raph in a voice that brooked no argument, even from their leader. "I don't know much about Splinter, but Mikey is one of us. He's our brother."

Leo nodded. "Agreed. We don't know if Splinter can help us fight our way through the Foot but. . ." He trailed off, realising that if Mikey had been hurt, he might not be much help to them either.

"There is one thing we could do," said Donnie, looking away from the laptop. "I could rig the security system to cut out – maybe. Saki trusted me to work on most of it, but I'll bet he has backups that I _didn't_ work on. Not a very trusting person. If I could fix it on those two floors only, there's less likelihood they'll be noticed and maybe, Splinter can work out for himself how to get free in case we aren't able to get down to high security."

Leo stared at Foot Headquarters, a frown on his face. "If anyone were to notice, it could tip off the Foot that we're arriving."

"Maybe," said Donnie. "But I _might_ be able to set up some kind of virus, something that takes a few minutes to infect the system. That way, it won't matter if the Foot do notice something – they'll already be aware of us. It'll affect the whole system too and could conceivably add to the confusion."

"Good thinking Don. Do it."

Don nodded and began typing again. "It'll take a few minutes."

Raphael leaned out, unconcerned about the height, sun and moon daggers already in hand. "Man, I can't wait to get in there."

"Stick to the plan Raph," said Leo sharply. "Find Mikey, find Splinter, leave. We're outnumbered and the Foot know our fighting styles. I trained half of them myself."

"I hope ya a bad teacher," said Raph and Leo almost laughed.

"It's kinda – weird," continued Raph. "This is probably the last time we'll be in there. It's the only home we remember and it's, y'know, strange to think in a few minutes we'll be fighting our own clan."

"Yeah." Leo grew sombre thinking about it. "A part of me says I'm going against everything we ever learned about honour, Bushido, the things we were taught to respect. That we're spitting in the face of our Sensei. That we're about to make our biggest mistake ever, one that we can't take back. But you know what? Mikey's missing and Don's computer says he's in the science lab being questioned and you _know_ what that means. We might have been members of the Foot but the four of us, we're a _family_ and I don't care about honour or mistakes or what happens next. We get Mikey and we get out. Revenge can come later. All that matters is our brother."

Raph glanced over at Leo. "And Splinter?"

"If we can get him, we do. If not. . . then that's not what's important. Mikey is. I want to get Splinter out too, but he's not the priority."

Raph nodded slowly. "Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry we didn't trust ya. Ya really came through for us."

"Why would you trust me? Mikey was right about a lot of things. I was obsessed with being the perfect Foot ninja, proving to Saki that I was worth the effort he spent on us – I neglected everything else. It took all this to remind me what was important." Leo smiled without humour. "I guess you could say it was a wake up call. Just wish it wouldn't have been at Mikey's expense."

"Done it," said Don from behind them. They turned to see him switching off the computer and shoving it in his bag. "Twenty minutes from now, every security door and camera in the building is going to be useless."

Leo nodded. "Ready guys?"

"Ready," replied Don.

Raph rested a hand on Leo's shell. "We're with ya bro."

"Then let's go get our brother."

&&&&&&&&

No one paid any attention when the three turtles walked through the front door of Foot Headquarters. Why would they? The trio and their absent brother were just another part of life with the clan. They strolled through the building and took the stairs up to the floor where the science labs were situated. It was a long way up, but Leo thought it more appropriate to use the stairs rather than advertise their destination.

"It's been ten minutes," Don advised them in a low voice.

"Let's go," said Leo determinedly.

They stepped out of the stairwell, sticking to the shadows, but realising immediately that the bright lighting wasn't aiding them. There were ten Foot ninjas in the corridor, most of them congregated around a room about half way down.

None of the Foot were especially worried to see them, but one strode forward. "Sorry guys. Master Saki personally requested that no one is allowed here without his supervision."

"I know," replied Leo and punched the ninja in the face with such force that the guy flew backwards, hitting the floor and sliding another two feet.

The other nine ninja didn't hesitate, merely unsheathed a variety of weapons and advanced.

Raphael unsheathed his sun and moon daggers and ran forward, grateful to at last have a target for his anger. He took down two without blinking, but two more avoided his attack and leapt at him. Don swung around his _nagitana_ and slashed one of them deeply. The other fell victim to a leaping split kick from Leo.

Five left.

They ran for the turtles and Leo used a reverse dragon punch to fell the nearest to him. Raph leapt and kicked two more in the face, knocking them down and out. Don sliced the fourth across the stomach, wincing slightly as blood flowed, jerking the weapon backward as he sensed the last one behind him and connecting with balls. The final ninja doubled over and sank to the floor, all the fight knocked out of him.

Leo made sure the concious ninja wouldn't be calling for help by using a nerve grip and rendering him unconcious. "Be alert. That was too easy."

Don eyed the security camera. "They'll be watching us."

"Let them watch." Raph sheathed his daggers again. "They ain't gonna stop us. Not tonight."

Leo pushed the door where most of the Foot had been situated. Locked. Rather than wait for the virus in the system to do its work, he leapt at the door and with one kick, knocked it off its hinges. Landing in the room, he quickly pulled out a sword in case there were more ninja within. The light was harsh, overbright and there were no shadows for concealment. Nor were there any Foot ninja within.

The room was windowless, spartan in comparison to many of the other science labs. What little equipment there was had been shoved against the wall out of the way and unworking. In the centre of the room was a steel table, restraint straps attached. And held down by the straps was Michelangelo.

"He's here!" Leo rushed over to the table, hearing his brothers follow but most of his attention taken up by Mikey. He looked _terrible_. As well as the permenant scarring on his face, Mikey had been used as someone's punching bag. There were bruises all over him and another tear on his mouth. His plastron rose and fell in accordance with his breathing, but his eyes were closed. Leo doubted he was asleep though. The lights in the room wouldn't let anyone get any rest. They were so bright that the eyelids would be of little use in blocking it out.

"Mikey?"

Mikey opened his eyes and squinted up. "Leo? Is that really you?"

"It's me." Leo used his sword to cut through the restraints that bound his brother to the table. "We're getting you out of here bro. We're all leaving."

Mikey coughed weakly as the last of the restraints were cut away. "I'm . . . sorry Leo."

"Huh?"

"What I said . . . I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"I know Mikey." Leo helped Mikey to sit up and decided to give him a moment to gather himself. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I didn't notice what was going on."

"We can do the regrets later." Raph checked out Mikey and gave his brother a one-armed hug. "Jeez Mikey, ya scared the crap outta us."

"Time up," said Donnie, the tension he felt evident in his voice. "The virus should have infiltrated the system by now. They should be having all kinds of problems with the security measures. Mikey, are you – OK?"

"Ready to party," replied Mikey, getting off the table and stumbling. Leo caught him and supported him into standing.

"We have to get moving," he said, glancing toward the door. "They'll be here any second! Don, help Mikey. Raph, scout the corridor. We need to leave."

Don put an arm around Mikey, letting his brother rest most of his weight on him. Raph took off for the door, pullling out his daggers as he did. Leo dared to take his arm off Mikey and go to the door with Raph.

Foot ninja were pouring into the corridor, from the stairwell, from the elevator shaft. Grimacing, Leo pulled out his swords and stood his ground, preparing to fight.

"Donnie, we got Foot!" Raph shouted, never taking his eyes off the scene in the corridor.

"I hear you!" Donnie was torn. On the one hand, he couldn't leave his injured brother. On the other, Leo and Raph couldn't take on the entire Foot alone. Hell, even with Mikey at full stregnth, the four of them couldn't take the Foot alone. But they had to _try_.

"Go help them," said Mikey, trying to stand without Donnie's help. "I'll be right behind you."

"You're in no shape to fight," replied Don. "Stay here. I'll help them."

Mikey leant against a wall and Don raced to the door, mind working overtime. He still had his bag and he thought he might still be able to give the Foot a few surprises. . .

His heart sank as he glanced into the corridor. Although they had yet to attack, the Foot were positioned between them and any possible escape. He had grappling hooks, but to leave through a window they had to_ find_ a window. The room where Mikey had been kept had none. And with the Foot after them, even if they did find a window, the ropes would probably be cut before they could climb down.

"Why are they just standing there?" Raph was tensed, ready to fight, but no one was advancing. "What are they waiting for?"

Leo narrowed his eyes. "Orders."

"Very astute, Leonardo."

The hoardes of Foot ninja parted, letting through their master, the Shredder, in full armour. Donatello sensed rather than saw Mikey join them. He couldn't take his eyes from his Master – his _father_ – who was ready to kill them.

"You always were smart. But you have done something very foolish in going against what I ordered. You three have only one chance – Michelangelo wasted his already. Pledge your loyalty to me and the Foot. Or die. Your choice."

Leo stood in front of his brothers, swords unsheathed. "Saki, we would rather die, with honour, than serve you another day."

"Fine." The Shredder's expression was impossible to see due to his helmet, but his voice was cold. "You four think you can do this to me? Betray _me_? You are wrong. The rat, the one that Michelangelo was trying to save before he ran afoul of me, is still in my custody. You _will_ obey me, or I shall have him executed. This insolent act shall see him suffer. Any further attempts at rebellion and he shall die. I am a man of my word, as you should know by now. Whatever tale he spun you is a lie. Continue with your futile efforts and you shall be sentencing him to death, and yourself to pain and misery. Assuming that I don't choose to kill you all for this – this _dishonour_."

The four turtles exchanged uneasy glances. It was one thing to give Splinter the chance to escape and leave without him, another to imagine that Shredder might actually torture him, kill him.

Decision time.

Leo tightened his grip on his double-edged sword. "Forget it Saki. "You can't bully or intimaidate us any more. We leave, tonight. You stand in our way, we cut through you."

"This is how you want it?"

"That's how it is."

"Then prepare to be annihilated."

Shredder motioned to the Foot to stand back. The turtles tensed as he took up a fighting stance. For several seconds there was a stand-off – then Raphael let his fury get the better of him. With a yell of defiance, he raced for Shredder, sun and moon daggers in hand. He thrust them at Shredder, only for the jabs to be blocked and a spinning kick to his shell sending him flying into a wall.

Donnie leapt for their former Sensei, _nagitana _out and wealded in the most lethal way he could think of. Much as he hated violence, he knew their only hope was to go through the Shredder. He never even laid a blow. Shredder ducked his strike, a punch to the back of Donnie's neck rendering him temporarily unable to even move, let alone mount an offensive strike.

Leo glanced back at Mikey and shook his head. He knew his brother was going to try to attack but in his weakened state would be no match for the Shredder. Hell, even at full strength Mikey hadn't been able to best him. Leo cursed to himself. _Why didn't I see that we were too far apart? Why did I leave it until now for us to practise teamwork? Saki taught us everything we know – but not everything HE knows. _

"Stay here Mike," he said and advanced on their Sensei, not in the rushed way that Raph and Donnie did, hoping he could pinpoint a weak spot. It was not to be. Shredder foresaw his every move, blocking every attack, countering his attepts at offence.

Shredder threw a punch that Leo just managed to raise an arm in time to block, the momentum sending him stumbling into a wall and almost tripping over Don. Shredder's eyes bored into him, a sadistic chuckle coming from behind the mask.

"I plan to re-educate you all," he said. "You _will _ be subservient to me. Failing that, I could sell you off to the highest bidder, who will vivisect you without the benefit of anesthetic just to discover how you came to be. I think I'll start with your disobediant brother."

Leo turned his head to notice that Mikey had discovered a pipe in the science lab and was limping toward Shredder, intent on helping his brothers.

"You wouldn't – you kept him here for a reason. . ."

"Re-education, until you three decided to play the hero." Shredder leapt at Mikey and Leo scrambled to his feet, aware that in the short time it took him, Shredder had already rendered Mikey no longer a threat. "You four could be useful to me, if you choose to be. Although I am at loathe to lose your services, I shall not hesitate to make you an example should your defiance continue."

"We won't do it Saki," replied Leo. "We're leaving the Foot."

"Fine," said Saki, laying a blow on Leo with his clawed fist that opened Leo's head on the left side. Immediately, blood began to pour from the wound. "You shall leave the Foot, if that is what you desire. You shall leave through death!"

Leo clapped a hand to his wound and then left it alone. What was done was done. He had to protect the others. Raising his swords, he faced off against Shredder.

Shredder moved _fast_. One moment, Leo was facing him, the next there was no one there. Barely blinking, remembereing his ninjitsu training, Leo turned to his left and fended a blow from Saki. But he failed to notice a kick coming immediately after and his swords flew out of his grasp. Saki capitalised on the distraction with a low sweeping kick that knocked Leo off his feet.

Grabbing one of Leo's own swords, Shredder held it against his throat. "I was proud at one point to call you my son. But now, you have betrayed me and the price of dishonour is death. Sayonara."

Leo grimiced in anticipation of what would be the final blow. . .

"NO!"

One moment Shredder was stood above Leo, ready to deliver the final strike – then he was gone. Leo blinked and sat up in a hurry.

Shredder was fending off an attack by a – _creature_ of some description. The Foot were unsure of what to do, hesitated. Scrambling to his feet, Leo tried to weigh up what was happening while helping his brothers.

The – _thing_ – was maybe four and a half foot tall, hairy and wore a tattered robe. Leo didn't need an introduction to realise that this must be the 'Splinter' to whom he had spoken, whom he had never set eyes upon save for a hand, until this moment.

_Donnie's plan – it worked._

"Guys!" He wanted to get them the hell away. Donnie was closest and he went over there, shaking the turtle. "You OK?"

"I think I can move. Maybe."

"Try harder. We have to get _out_ of here!" He moved over to Mikey. "Mike? Sorry bro. You have to get up!"

"Can't I have another S'mores?"

"Maybe if you get moving." He hurried over to Raph. "You OK?"

"I will be and then I get to kill him."

"No! Splinter gave us the distraction and now we leave."

Finally, the Foot decided to get involved. Leo looked up and saw the swarm advancing on him. With a grimace, he weilded his swords – then belatedly rememebered the other sword. The one he wore on his back, possibly their only chance.

Looking around, he saw his brothers felled, Splinter engaged in one on one combat witht the Shredder. Decided, he grabbed the glove from hisbelt and put it on, snatching the Sword of Tengu from his back and pointing it at the Foot.

He could feel the energy through the glove, sending vibrations up his arm. A pulse of energy emitted from the sword, knocking Foot ninja flying. Glancing around, Leo could see his brothers getting to their feet and hurrying over.

"Splinter!" Mikey made as if to go after the rat, but Donnie stopped him.

"You're in no condition Mike." Donnie reached into his bag and pulled out a smoke grenade, throwing it in the general direction of the two fighters. "Splinter! We're leaving!"

An explosion of smoke erupted, cloaking everything in a cloud. Putting an arm around Mikey to support him, Donnie made in the direction of the stairwell. Truth be known, he hadn't really expected to come out of the confrontation alive. Now that he thought that he might, he wanted nothing more than to make it to April's place and rest for a while.

"Go!" A voice penetrated the smoke, not one of his brothers, and Donnie knew it had to be Splinter. "I shall cover the rear!"

"Shredder won't let us leave," said Raph's voice through the smoke.

"Unusually astute." Shredder's voice, followed by the noise of armour hitting flesh. "I will _not_ lose.You will _not_ leave here alive!"

"Watch us." Leo's voice was cold and through the smoke, the others could see the glow of the Sword of Tengu. But the mist was clearing and the figure of Leonardo, bearing the sword, became evident. He pointed the sword in the direction of Shredder and Splinter.

"Splinter! Move!"

Splinter didn't hesitate, leaping away from Shredder as the energy beam emerged from the sword. Shredder was not so swift and the beam hit him, knocking him flying backward several feet.

"Go!" Leo gestured at his brothers and the rat. "We can't fight them off. We have to get out of here!"

The five headed down the stairwell, Donnie supporting Mikey, Splinter watching their backs and Raph and Leo making sure that no one attacked them from the front. Butmost of the Foot in the building had piled into the science floor behind Shredder and were left upstairs, leaving the turtles unattacked.

"There's gonna be more of them in the lobby," warned Leo. "The kunoichi too. We're gonna have to fight our way through them."

"Perfect," growled Raph. "We have to get Mikey out of here!"

"Don't worry about me bro," muttered Mikey. "I'll be fine."

Entering the lobby, Mikey wondered if he should reconsider that statement. The rooom was crawling with Foot ninja, standing between them and the exit. All of them were armed, just waiting for them.

"Think we can take all of them out?" asked Don.

"No way," said Raph bluntly. "But we're gonna try."

Leo nodded. "We go through them if necessary. But we need to get _out_." He flourished the sword at the Foot as they advanced, feeling the familiar thrum of energy as a concussive beam emerged. The ninja dived for cover as the beam shot across the room, shattering the reinforced glass in the doors and twisting the frame out of shape.

"Don, get Mikey out," ordered Leo. Splinter, you go with them. Raph, we need to cover them."

"Happy to," replied Raph with a smirk.

The Foot recovered and advanced again, more catiously this time. Leo waved the sword around menacingly, hoping they'd back off. Unlikely. If the turtles escaped, the Shredder's wrath would be immense. No one would want him to direct his fury at them.

Don and Mikey reached the door, Splinter fending off attacks from Foot ninja who were willing to brave the swords energy or realised that Leo wouldn't aim so close to his brothers. Most of the Foot were intent on the sword in Leo's hand, trying to work out a way to disarm him. Raphael watched his back, making sure that none of the Foot could attack from the rear.

Forcing the mangled door open, Don allowed himself a small grin. Freedom, so close he could almost taste it. Once out of the building they could lose themselves in the shadows and elude the Foot. Of course, they all had to get _out_ of the building first.

"Almost there Mikey."

"We're not out of the woods yet," said Mikey. "They'll be waiting on the rooftops outside."

"We can lose 'em," said Don, more confidently than he felt.

The Foot chose that moment to attack en mass. Not having enough time to aim the sword at them, Leo opted to use the weapon as its design indicated, slashing and blocking. Raph used his sun and moon daggers to deadly effect, fending off blows. Still more went for Don, Mikey and Splinter and Don was forced to let go of his brother in order to defend them.Using his _nagitana_ to strike them down, he wondered just how long they could keep this up. It was some kind of cruel game, letting them get all the way to the door only to snatch them back at the last minute. If he just had a moment to get to his bag. . .

Knocking away a ninja, he realised Splinter was close by, fighting a couple of the Foot. "Splinter! Cover me!"

Nodding, Splinter felled the ninja he was fighting and leapt in front of Don. Pulling the bag open, Don found what he was looking for – exploding shuriken. Throwing them with practised ease, he threw them in the direction of his brothers, who knew what to expect and jumped out of the way in a hurry. The small explosions distracted the Foot who weren't in range and injured the ones who were, giving Leo the chance to use the Sword of Tengu as a blaster, knocking more ninja down and out.

"_Go_!" he yelled, turning for the door and running, Raph close by. Don let Mikey lean on him as they hurried through the twisted doors and outside, toward freedom.

Only to find still more Foot ninja awaiting them.

Raph narrowed his eyes. "This is not our day."

As one, the Foot attacked. Once again, the turtles and Splinter were forced to fend off attacks. But now they were tiring and the latest wave of ninjas were fresh. They were being beaten down by sheer numbers.

A particularly vicious kick knocked the Sword of Tengu from Leo's hand, sending it skittering into the road. Before he could retrieve his own swords, he was set upon by three ninja and had to defend himself unarmed.

Raph let himself go, trusting his reflexes to guide him, allowing his anger free rein. But fatigue was setting in and he was starting to slow down. A punch to his head made his ears ring and furious, he turned and slashed the ninjas throat with a dagger, immediately jumping and kicking to the sides as more of them attacked.

Don had to leave his brother as he was set upon. His _nagitana_ moved so fast it was a blur, laying out ninjas left and right, but there were always more of them and he could feel his energy ebbing, along with his hope of getting away from the Foot alive.

Mikey clenched his fists in frustation. His brothers were being worn down and there was nothing he could do to help them. He could barely even walk, let alone fight. For some reason, the Foot were ignoring him. Maybe because they knew he was no threat and going nowhere. They could safely leave him until last.

And then he was grabbed by the throat, pulled backward and arn arm around his throat. Claws pressed against his head and punctured the skin, thin trails of blood running down his face.

"Cease!"

the other turtles and Splinter looked over and froze as the Foot stopped their attacks. Shredder had Mikey trapped.

"Drop your weapons and I'll kill him swiftly. Don't, and I shall draw out all of your deaths."

"Guys, get outta here!" Mikey tried to get free from Shredder, to know avail.

Hesitating, not sure what to do, the turtles paused. . .

And the Shredder suddenly stumbled forward, letting his grip on Mikey go. Mikey broke free, hurrying over to his brothers as the Foot once again moved in on them.

The Shredder regainsed his composure, turning to confont the masked vigilante behind him, baseball bat in hand.

"You _dare_ interfere?"

Eyes cold behind the mask, Casey twirled the bat. "You pajama freaks only outnumber them about a zillion to one."

"You shall regret your foolishness," snapped the Shredder, lashing out with his claw. Casey managed to block with his bat but was already beginning to regret his bravado. This guy was good and the claw damn sharp, slicing halfway through the bat.

Dodging a Foot ninja, Leo retrieved the fallen Sword of Tengu, leaping at the Shredder, who didn't even hear him coming. Using all his momentum, Leo buried the Sword in Shredder's back.

For a second the Shredder remained motionless before falling to his knees, sword still embedded in his armour. Casey dodged out of the way as gravity took over and he collapsed on the floor.

"Don, we need some cover! Let's get out of here!"

Don nodded, dodging a ninja and grabbing some smoke bombs from his bag. One was enough to cover them, but to be on the safe side he threw three. Immediately visability was reduced to zero.

Grabbing the Sword of Tengu and pulling it from his former Sensei's back, Leo grabbed Casey by the arm and pulled him in the direction of the others. "We have to leave, now!"

"Hey, no arguments from me." Casey willingly followed Leo's lead.

"We can use the sewers to get away from the area," said Splinter quietly. "And beware, the Foot will try to follow us."

Still covered by the smoke, they hurried over to the nearbby manhole. A few Foot ninja did manage to find them but were quickly disposed off by Raph, who was still in shock after seeing his brother stab their Sensei. In the back no less. Who would have thought Leo could do such a thing?

Through the smoke, none of them could see the Shredder as he sat up, apparently feeling no ill effects from the wound.

Leo and Raph removed the manhole cover and waited until everyone else was down before first Leo then Raph descended, replcing the manhole cover behind them. There was no conversation among them, not wanting to draaw attention to themselves should any of the Foot have seen where they hid. All of them were lost in their own thoughts and wondered what the future held. Maybe it wasn't important. They had done it. All of them had escaped the Foot and the intimidation and uncertainty.

They were free.


	12. Epilogue

**Author Note: **So here it is – the epilogue. :sniffles: I've had a lot of fun writing this fic and I do have a sequel planned, tentatively named 'Estranged'. Why do I always seem to name my fics after songs? I have no idea. I also seem to write an awful lot of Leo-centric fics, even though I'm an obsessive Mikey fan. OK, now I'm rambling. Um, the sequel won't be up until after I move house, which should be next month. I just have too much to do! I need to finish 'Deep', which I have been woefully neglecting of late, and I have about 4 half-written one-shots which are pretty interesting. Like all my one-shots seem to be, they're pretty angsty!

My thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, and to Pacphys who pointed out the Open Office programme to me and a li'l syntax problem in the last chapter that gave me scary nightmares! "Hotting" the Foot indeed!

Also, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my latest one-shot 'One Moment', which as I type has an equal amount of reviews as 'Alone' (coughwinnerofbestoneshotof2005cough) so must be equally popular! Yeah, I'm having a "Battle Nexus Champion" moment!

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Casey was dying to know what was going on, but the silence of his unexpected allies put him off speaking. Originally he had followed them back to the building intending to pound the crap outta them for doing just that to him back at the museum. But seeing them fighting against all the pyjama guys had changed his mind. They had looked heavily outnumbered and he always hated seeing the underdog lose. Scars had been barely able to support his own weight and when the armour guy had snatched him, Casey had seen red and decided to get involved. Hell, if necessary, he could always kick the crap outta them later.

One of the – _things_ – went ahead of them, checking out the sewer tunnels for more pyjama guys. Another walked behind them, making sure they weren't followed. The third made sure that Scars didn't fall, supporting him and helping him walk. And the last guy – Casey didn't have a clue about _him_. He wasn't burdened with much imagination and didn't know quite what he was seeing, save for some short hairy guy with a walking stick.

Finally, he let curiosity overtake him. "So what's the story with you guys? Who are you?"

"Shhhh!" The guy leading the way put a finger to his mouth in the universal gesture of asking for quiet. The blood dripping from the side of his head had stopped flowing, but it still looked painful.

"Leo, I think they're gone by now!" The one at the back grinned. "We're, uh. . . we're. . ."

"Kinda surprised you helped us out," finished Scars.

Casey shrugged. "Those guys meant business and outnumbered ya twenty to one. I like a fight to be fair."

"We owe you one," said the one at the back, rather grudgingly. "My name is Raphael. These are my brothers, Leonardo - " He indicated to the one at the front. "Donatello and Michelangelo." He waved a hand at Scars and the creature holding him up. "This is our – this is Splinter."

"I'm Casey Jones."

There was silence for several more minutes before Casey spoke again. "So, where we going?"

"I have a friend," replied Donatello. "We're going to her place."

"Donnie, you never told me about this friend," said Leo. "Can she be trusted?"

"I hope so," replied Don. "I really don't know. She knows about us and she said we could stay with her, that she'd give us shelter. I probably saved her life once and she thinks she owes me. She knows we're coming and that we're mutants but. . ." He looked embarrassed. "I didn't tell her about Splinter. And I didn't expect anyone else."

"That's OK Don." Leo put a hand on his brothers shell. "You did good just finding us a place to go. But one day you have to tell me the whole story!"

Casey pushed his mask up so it rested on the top of his head. "So, you guys get to stay with this girl. Can I go home?"

"I don't see why not," replied Leo carefully. "The Foot don't know who you are. But maybe you should come with us for a while. We need to talk. We _all_ need to talk."

There was a momentary silence, then Splinter sighed. "This is true. We must speak. There is a great deal of explaining to be done by me – you all have risked so much on trust of the word of an old rat such as myself."

"We risked _nothing_ for you," replied Leo sharply. "We did what we had to do for our brother. You were nothing more than an afterthought."

"Leo!" Mikey looked upset. "I did what I did, went to free him, because I believe him. You could at least give him the benefit of the doubt."

"I'm – sorry Mike," responded Leo. "But there's no way we can put our trust in this guy after only one or two meetings! Splinter, maybe you are on the level but I have to think about us, more now than ever."

Splinter surprised them all with a chuckle. "Even as a child Leonardo, you always wanted to take care of your brothers. You were always so protective of them. I am proud that you didn't lose that."

"I wouldn't be too proud," muttered Leo. "I _did_ lose it. I forgot about my brothers while I pursued what I wanted. I didn't see what was right in front of me! And we could have lost Mikey because. . . . Because. . . "

Mikey disentangled himself from Don and made his way over to Leo. "Bro, don't worry about it. I'm still here. We all are. And we got away from the Foot, thanks to you."

"I stabbed hiim in the back," murmered Leo, almost to himself. "I stabbed our Sensei through the _back_. Where's the honour in that?"

"We were outnumbered Leo!" Donnie tried to think of a way to make his brother feel better. "If you didn't, we might never have got away from there alive. Casey sure wouldn't have."

Leo sighed and decided to change the subject. "If I worked it out right, we should be at ninth. We better take to the streets again. Stay out of sight."

"We know the drill by now," replied Raph, spying a manhole and quickly scaling the ladder. He pushed the cover up and peeked out. There didn't seem to be anyone about.

"Coast's clear."

"Then let's go already," said Donnie. He was beginning to get worried. What if April _had_ decided to call someone about them? They were in no shape to go anywhere else, not that there was anywhere to go.

_She wouldn't. She just can't. We haven't fought our way through this, finally got away, only to have it snatched away at the last moment. That would be too cruel._

Once topside, Donnie gave them directions to April's apartment and the six took off, hiding in the shadows as much as possible. It was slow going with Mikey being so injured and the various wounds the others had, particularly as they had to stay out of sight whenever a car came past, but there were no pedestrians at that time of night in that neighbourhood. When they got to the antique shop, Donnie indicated to the lit window above it. "There."

Leo nodded. "Don, you go up and tell her we're here. And that we have one extra. Come on Mikey, I'll help you up the fire escape."

Don nodded, hurrying up the fire escape and pushing the window open. April had obviously been pacing and as soon as the window went up, she rushed over.

"What happened? Did you find your brother? Are you OK? You look _terrible_!"

"You should see the other guy," said Don, making a feeble attempt at a joke. "We got Mikey out – they're coming up the fire escape behind me. Look, there's something I should have told you about Splinter. . ."

"This is your contact? Good choice dude!" Mikey climbed carefully through the window, giving April his most charming smile.

"Oh my goodness, sit down before you fall down!" April indicated to the couch and Mikey went over to it, collapsing gratefully.

"Ignore Mikey, you get used to him." Raph jumped through the window, giving April a once-over and raising an eye ridge."Hear Donnie made ya faint. He has that effect on all girls, right Don?"

"Shut up Raph."

With a smile, April turned her attention back to the window. And froze.

"You're a – a - "

Splinter looked mildly apologetic, but before he could say a word, April keeled over.

"This is just great," growled Raph. "Don, next time pick someone who _doesn't_ pass out every time they see a mutant."

"Stop grumbling Raph." Don picked April up and carried her over to the couch, depositing her on the seat next to Mikey. "I didn't get a chance to mention Splinter, OK? She's just freaked."

Casey almost fell through the window, landing gracelessly on the floor. "Jeez, next time can we just use the door?"

"We're not exactly your typical guests," replied Leo, last through the window and closing it behind him. "What happened to her?"

"She, um. Fainted. Again." Don looked embarrassed.

"Again? Why do I get the feeling I don't want to know?" Leo turned to the window and looked out, tryint to see if anything moved in the shadows. Satisfied, he closed the blinds and went to check the rest of the windows.

On the couch, April stirred. "Whuh. . . ?"

"Oh no!" Don raced over to the couch, just as April opened her eyes, took in the scene, including Splinter, and opened her mouth to scream. Don clamped his hand over her mouth for the second time that day, muffling her yells.

"April, it's alright! That's Splinter. Please stop screaming!"

April nodded and Don risked taking his hand from her mouth. April barely looked at him, her eyes wide as she gazed at Splinter.

"You're a – a _rat_?"

Splinter bowed slightly. "That is correct."

"I'm sorry, I should have told you before but I – uh, forgot?"

"That's not the kinda thing you forget to mention Don," said Mikey.

"I was distracted," replied Donnie, shooting Mikey a look of irritation. "Mikey, you met and I guess you know Splinter. You saw Raph before and this is Leo, he didn't come in until after you, um, you know."

Leo inclined his head. "Thank you for helping us."

"And this is Casey – no one's quite sure where he turned up from."

"I followed ya from the docks," said Casey, wandering over to the couch. Amongst all the weirdness, at first April hadn't even noticed the human.

"You're – not a turtle."

"Uhhhh, no, I guess not."

Suddenly aware of how dishevilled she must appear, April sat up and tried to look nonchalant. "So – does anyone want to tell me what happened?"

"It's kind of a long story," said Donnie hesitantly. "You see. . ."

Raph glanced around, checking on his brothers. Donnie was telling April about their story, obviously besotted. As was Casey. Mikey was taking the oppertunity to just rest and Splinter was listening to Don's desciption of events, as he had only arrived half way through the tale. Leo was nowhere to be seen. Raph thought for a moment and then went out of the window.

Leo was sat on the roof, staring out over the city. Raph rested a hand on his shell. "Hey bro – ya OK?"

"I'm just checking the streets, making sure no Foot ninja followed us here."

"Relax Leo, we lost 'em."

"For now." Leo's voice was grim. "You know Shredder isn't going to just let us go."

"He isn't going to just let us _live_ either."

Leo nodded, attention still on the dark streets below. "He can't kill us if he doesn't catch us."

"You want us to _hide_?" Raph snorted contemptuously. "That ain't my style."

"We're in no condition to _fight_!" said Leo forcefully."We all took a hell of a beating from the Foot and Mikey needs to recover from whatever it was that Saki and Stockman did to him. He's trying to tough it out but he can hardly walk."

"I noticed," growled Raph. "I'm gonna hurt Saki for what he did to Mikey."

"But we need to show just a little restraint." Finally satisfied that no ninja were nearby, Leo turned to face Raph. "We need to lay low for a while, plan ahead."

Raph nodded, not looking convinced. Leo frowned. Whether or not Raph would listen to him was open to debate.

"Besides, we have a lot of other stuff to think about," he said. "Like finding a place to live. We can't stay here indefinately."

"Assuming we can trust this April, not to mention that psycho with the mask," added Raph.

"Don seems to think she's trustworthy."

"Don ain't always a great judge of character."

"Still, she seems on the level. She hasn't spoken to anyone about us and she's letting us stay with her. And she was pretty worried about Mikey when she's never even met him before."

"I guess," said Raph. "But ya think Casey's gonna keep quiet about us?"

"I don't know. I was surprised when he helped us out. But you know more about him than I do. Didn't you say he was after the Dragons?"

"Yeah, we – _they_ had a lot of problems with a vigilante breaking up their heists and beating them up. Sounds like the same guy. And he went after us when we robbed the museum."

"Which makes it less likely that he's going to conspire against us."

"Except for the museum robbing part."

Leo gave a small smile. "Yeah, except for that." The smile left him and he frowned instead, speaking reluctantly. "And then there's Splinter."

"What, ya think we can't trust Splinter? He was a Foot prisoner!"

"I know, but there's so much about him we don't know! I just think we need to be cautious about him."

"Don't ya believe what he told us? Ya think he made it up just so we'd bust him outta there? Ya think leaving the Foot was _wrong_?"

"No! We had to leave the Foot. And I remember him – now. We did live with him in the sewers when we were kids and the Foot kidnapped us all. But it's been a long time, he's been locked up alone all those years. . . he must have changed. We just need to watch ourselves."

Raph scowled. "Man, I thought it would get easier after we left the Foot."

Leo laughed without humour. "Easier? I don't think so. Looks like we're going to be living in interesting times from now on."

"Yeah, great," said Raph.

"It could be worse," said Leo. "We got away, all of us. And maybe everything will turn out OK. I could just be being pessimistic."

"Man, I hope so. We've been through enough the last few weeks."

There was a moment of silence, then Leo spoke. "And Saki doesn't have the Sword of Tengu."

"After all the trouble he went through to get it and seeing what it can do, that's probably a good thing."

"But it's going to make him more likely to come after us."

"Let him try." Raph took out a sun and moon dagger and spun it around a finger.

Leo nodded. "We'll be ready for him when he turns up. But we should rest up first, give Mikey a chance to heal. And find a place to live."

"Yeah, maybe we can look up some apartments in the paper."

Leo laughed. "If only it was that simple."

"Come on bro, let's go inside." Raph headed for the edge of the roof, planning to jump down to the fire escape. "Make sure Donnie and Mikey aren't talking the humans to death."

"Yeah." Leo didn't follow and Raph turned to look at him. "Raph, do you think Mikey's going to be OK? You don't think there's anything serious wrong with him, internal bleeding or something?"

Raph shook his head emphatically. "He took a beating, but there's nothing that time won't heal. Saki was going to brainwash him, he wanted Mikey to stay with the Foot. He wouldn't do anything that could cause lasting damage."

"I guess not." Leo frowned, staring out over the city. "But did Stockman start trying to brainwash him?"

"I don't know," replied Raph. "Maybe ya should be asking him and not me."

Leo nodded. "In the morning. I think he's had enough for one day. Beside, we should make sure he's patched up alright."

The pair jumped onto the fire escape and went back through the window into April's apartment, into a somewhat bizarre scene.

April and Casey were practically nose to nose, yelling accusations at each other. In the background, Don and Splinter were tending to Mikey's injuries, pretending not to watch the scene. Mikey was making no such pretense, openly gaping at the scene, his face arranged into the closest expression to surprise as his scarring would allow.

"Why, of all the myopic, mysoginistic. . ."

"How am I supposed to understand ya when ya don't even speak English! Ahh, _women_!"

"You big _ape_!"

"Are we interrupting something?" Raph tried to lighten the situation, only to be totally ignored by the bickering humans.

"It's kinda like 'Moonlighting' isn't it?" Don grinned at his brothers.

"That's _it_! I am _so_ outta here!" Casey stormed over to the door.

"Well, _good riddance_!" yelled April. She was answered by the door slamming shut.

Splinter started to chuckle as she turned back to the mutants, looking mildly embarrassed. "I'm sorry guys – he was just so _annoying_!"

Raph smirked. "More annoying than Mikey?"

"Hey! I'm injured, be nice to me!"

"Speaking of injured. . ." Don walked over to Leo and checked the wound on the side of his head. "That's gonna leave a scar. I wish I had something to stitch it up with."

"I'll be fine," replied Leo, touching the cuts and wincing. "Just lucky it wasn't my - " He glanced at Mikey and remembered too late to keep his mouth shut. But the unspoken words seemed louder than if he had finished the sentence. _I'm just lucky it wasn't my face._

"How are you doing Mikey?" Leo cursed himself inwardly, trying hard to take attention from what he'd been about to say.

"I'll live," muttered Mikey, unusually petulant, letting Leo know he wasn't forgiven for his mistake.

"He needs to rest," said April. "I'll get some blankets. I don't think I've got enough for everyone though."

"That's OK April," said Donnie.

Leo watched as she headed for the bedroom to grab the blankets before turning his attention back to his family. Mikey was staring at the floor, face caught in the grimace that would never go away. Raph had gone to the window, still watching out for the Foot and Leo knew he couldn't keep him away from going for revenge forever. Don was staring after April, obviously smitten. There was no way that situation could end well. And Splinter was totally inscrutible. Leo wanted to be able to trust him, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.

There was no conversation between the five, nothing to say. Although he wanted to talk, Leo didn't know where to begin. Sooner or later they were going to have to decide what to do with the future but he couldn't think how to bring up the subject. Maybe in the morning they would find it easier – but he really didn't think it would work like that. In spite of their recent dramas, they were still too far apart to make it easy.

_Estranged. . ._

Leo vowed he was going to do something about that. No way was he letting his brothers drift apart like that. They needed each other, now more than ever. If they were going to survive, they needed to be able to trust each other. But looking at them now – it wasn't going to be an easy task.


End file.
